The Konoha Private High School For The Elite
by MerryBrandy
Summary: High School is hard as it is. It's harder when you willingly get into trouble. Naruto and the crew try to stop the Akatsuki at whatever it is they've planned but they have an even bigger problem on their hands: High School.
1. Chapter 1

"Wow! Finally we're at HERE! Can you believe it? Konoha Private High School for the Elite. Elite man! Damn, it's so awesome to be here!" Naruto Uzumaki shouted, no proclaimed, his acceptance loud enough that the whole dorm exterior turned to look at the source of noise. Some snickered and some stood there smiling remembering their first day of high school. The day was warm and Naruto stretched his arms into the air. He was as excited as the rest (although they wouldn't show it) because Konoha Private High School was every kids dream. It was the best of the best and the best of the best had gone to this school. Each Hokage walked the very halls Naruto would soon place his feet upon.

"This means I'M an ELITE! Sasuke did you get that?" He smirked stating the fact a bit to close to the Uchiha's face.

"Shut it Dobe. You had the worst grades out of all of us. You're only here because you got yourself a pity party." He wasn't going to let Naruto get too happy. Happy meant hyper. You have to cut him off before it branches out. He knew Naruto well enough that this one comment wasn't going to put him down. He needed to add more and fast.

"You're only here because Iruka is a teacher and Tsunade's the principal. Other than that you'd be back at public school." That wasn't true. It was true that Naruto did have the lowest grade in his group of friends but that was strictly due to lack of participation and homework. Everyone thought Naruto would fail. Even his adopted father Iruka lacked confidence in him. But once the test scores were out, Naruto passed with flying colors (to everyone's surprise). He had potential and that was got him in. Almost like a scholarship student except not as smart.

"Why I ought of-" The blond was about to retort before a brunette boy, his hair in a pony tail that could never seem to stay down, interjected his threat.

"Cut it out you two. We just got here. As if the 2 hour fight in the van wasn't enough you have to start it here too?" Shikamaru lazily moaned. He rolled his eyes as he pushed Naruto out of the way. The boys were currently in a line passing down luggage and boxes in an orderly fashion. Shikamaru was the closest to the fighting pair and he was the one put in charge of both of them. It took them hours to drive to everyone's house and pack up all their stuff in the back of Kiba's van.

"Hey! He started it. He was killing my vibe! He said-" Naruto defended almost dropping the lamp in his hands. He was starting to get sick of Shikamaru's high and mighty attitude.

"Look, I know what he said and I have to agree with him. But please just enjoy the fact that you're here." The genius sighed. Why he took it upon himself to be the 'leader' of the group was a wonder. It was probably because he was the one with any responsibility (only second to Sasuke). He always thought through everything he did. Nothing was unplanned with Shikamaru. So the boys knew that he knew what he was doing. Shikamaru was the first to be accepted into Konoha Private High School earning a full scholarship at the age of 9 (not that he needed it). School was such a bother to him.

_Why am I here again?_ He wondered while mindlessly passing down packages. Why wasn't public school good enough? _Oh right. The freedom._ Freedom was something Shikamaru was desperate for. He was sick of his nagging mother who wouldn't let him be. He could do whatever he wanted in his dormitory, sleep until whatever time he chose to rest at, hang out with his friends without making his bed, and most of all spend however long he wanted watching the clouds.

That was why most of the boys attended the school, to get away from the hectic domestic life they led. Kiba loved dogs but was tired of always having to take care of the kennel when his sister was gone. Chouji hated seeing all those prototypes go to waste. Shino didn't like the eternal silence at home. Sasuke hated hearing about the achievements of his runaway brother. Naruto wanted to prove himself. Sai needed to branch out. Shikamaru was positive that all of them had a feeling of new found independence. Just looking at their new dorm lit up the boys' eyes.

Once they were finished unloading the van they hastily separated their luggage. The new freshmen boys chatted animatedly asking when it was okay to use Shino's XBOX or where would Akamaru would stay (Kiba couldn't let him stay at home so he smuggled him into school). Kiba took out his schedule in a bored manner.

"What room number do you have Shino?" Kiba asked keeping one hand in his sweatshirt pockets. If his hands were there then no one would suspect Akamaru in there. Shino couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Same as you Kiba. 412." Shino didn't even look his way. Eyeing each other, each one of them slowly took their schedule.

"No surprise here. I'm with Shikamaru." Chouji munched on his last chip. He smoothed out the plastic rapper before carefully tucking into his bag.

"Oh come on! That means I'm sharing with Sasuke!" Naruto groaned. He dramatically stabbed himself then high-fived Kiba. It was immature but that was exactly how Naruto rolled.

"At least you know who you are rooming with Naruto. I have absolutely no clue." Sai expressed. He handed his schedule to Sasuke who checked with everyone else's papers. He shook his head.

"He's right. None of us are rooming with him."

"Whatever. Don't sweat it man. If you ever need to room somewhere you can sleep on our coach or something." Kiba patted him on the back. Sai smiled (rather oddly) back at him. His smiles weren't getting any better.

"You can share with me instead!" Naruto pitched in. It almost turned into a Sai rescue fund before he interrupted.

"I wouldn't want your company dickless." Sai pointed out. Fists clenched, Naruto was ready to throw a punch. What he would do to get rid of that idiotic nickname that was bestowed upon him. But before he could, something more important childish nicknames caught his eyes. 3 girls were strolling happily towards them. Their eyes showed signs of fatigue but more than that they showed pure joy. The pink one was almost skipping as her eyes scanned the green grass on which the boys were laying down on. Naruto jumped up as Kiba and Chouji slowly got up to also greet the girls.

"Hey Sakura! Hey Hinata! Hey Ino-pig." The blond girl glared daggers at Naruto. The guys on the grass could feel the intensity of it and some (Shikamaru and Chouji because they knew all to well what would happen next) backed up.

"What the hell did you just call me?" Ino shrieked. Her hair hit his faced as she hastily turned to face the girl next to her. "How DARE you teach him such a stupid thing!" Ino was seething. Naruto backed up. Kiba quickly put his hands on his ears.

"Cool down Ino! He didn't mean it. Did you Naruto?" Although it sounded innocent enough Sakura bore holes into boy's head. She mouthed the words _She's going to give me hell. Go die._

"Sorry. Sorry. I never meant to. Totally didn't mean it. You're so not a pig. You're more of a…piglet?" Kiba was howling as Ino turned red. She looked like she might have strangled someone if Shino hadn't broken her out of her frenzy.

"Where are your belongings?" It was then that they all noticed the girls were empty hand. They couldn't possibly have come early enough to already have set up. What is it with girls and fixing everything up?

"Oh well we just threw it in our rooms. We'll worry about that later. We have the most amazing news!" Sakura chirped out. She was waving her hands around excitedly which was something Sakura normally would restrain from. This indicated that her news was very important.

"You guys remember Neji, Lee, and Tenten right?"

"Of course. They are not a group we're likely to forget." Sasuke reassured her. The rest nodded in agreement. Ino waved her hand motioning to get on with it. She looked like she was about to burst and say it herself.

"Well Tenten is staying in our dorm. She got permission from Shizune-san to move to our apartment! How great is that! Now all four of us can be together!" She clapped her hands and stared at them for the reaction.

"Four? It's only two to an apartment." Shikamaru pointed out.

"Silly Shikamaru." Ino sighed. "You have two people to an apartment. In the girls dormitory we have four to an apartment. Two rooms for us can fit four girls as opposed to your small 2 bedroom shacks." She explained slowly like it was her birthright to live in a four person apartment. Meanwhile, Hinata was watching everything unfold and giggled as Ino folded her arms and saw Kiba roll his eyes muttering _Drama Queen_. Naruto caught her stare and grinned.

"Hey Hinata! Long time no see. You didn't even call or email or anything! Do you know how much I missed you over the summer? Where were you?" Naruto had happily jumped in front of her. With each question he got closer and closer. Before he could take one more step someone drag him back.

"Hey, what's the idea-?"

"Excuse me?" He looked up to see a pair of deep brown eyes that matched the color of the girl's hair. After seeing the buns on either side of her head he beamed at her.

"Hey there Tenten!" The greetings commenced. Squealing came from both Sakura and Ino as Hinata gave Tenten a gentle hug. There were comments like _how was your summer_ and _is school really that bad?_ After sometime, Tenten got to explain why she was absent for most of their summer.

"I had community service that Lee signed us up for. The houses I built back in Chile are going to look great on my college applications." She smirked showing off her pearly whites.

"You got your braces off!" Hinata noticed. They paid more attention to her teeth after that comment.

"I'm not the only one to make a change. Rock Lee has -" The sentence was left unfinished because a tall boy with an odd bob cut jumped down from a 5 story balcony to land in front of them.

"HELLO MY YOUTHFUL FRESHMEN OF YOUTH." Most people near the dorm hardly bothered to look who it was. Only the newcomers waiting to get into their apartments turned to see what the commotion was about. Before them, Rock Lee stood with no jumpsuit or tracksuit. He wore a simple green t-shirt with white sleeves and denim jeans. It suited him. It made him proud that his new look was able to make all of his friends' mouths open wide.

"We gave him a new wardrobe but he refuses to let me fix those dreadful eyebrows or that hair of his. The caterpillars stay." She complained. "He did all this for you Sakura." Lee kindly bowed to show his agreement. Everyone was silent. They didn't know what to say. For the longest time Lee would only wear his jumpsuit. He said it was in order to be like his idol Gai-sensei. All they knew about the infamous Gai-Sensei was that he was the one who mentored Lee and that he was a gym teacher for the high school. Sakura was the first to say anything.

"Wow, Lee. This is quite an improvement. Honestly you look great." She hesitated. "But I still don't see you that way. We're still friends though!" She added in hope that Lee would understand. After the many rejections she knew he would bounce back.

"IT IS FINE SAKURA-SAN! I WILL STILL WAIT FOR YOU LIKE THE YOUTHFUL GREEN BEAST OF KONOHA THAT I AM!" He shot his fists into the air. Ino laughed as Naruto and Kiba smirked at how foolish the sophomore was acting. Shikamaru silently pitied Rock Lee's attempts. _The chances of him actually scoring with Sakura are as close as Naruto's._ Lee was about to launch into another monologue when a very beautiful boy joined the group. Neji Hyuuga had finally arrived completing their past posse.

"Lee what the hell are you screaming about now?" He hissed as he greeted the rest.

"NEJI I-"

"Whatever. I could care less."

"NEJI WE MUST TALK ABOUT-" Neji turned around quickly and sighed.

"We'll talk about whatever this is later." He turned to his friends. Scanning the crowd, he made eye contact with Sasuke.

"Uchiha."

"Hyuuga." The two prodigies were having a glare off. It was a regular within the group. Off to the side Kiba, Chouji and Naruto were placing bets on which one of the group members would interrupt it this time.

"As much as we would love to reminisce, would you both keep your egos to a minimum today?" Tenten interjected sarcastically as she cut them off.

"That'll be $5 from both of you." Kiba and Naruto fished out the cash in their pockets to place in the pudgy hand before them.

"Shikamaru's rubbing off on you." Kiba muttered. Akamaru barked in agreement. They were laughing and discussing the summer and chatting about the school year ahead of them when a tall and intimidating girl came into view. She was confident and it showed in the way she walked. She popped her hip when she walked while she still walked gracefully. She never kicked dirt but as she came around it was almost as if every pebble around her was pushed out of the way by the very air beneath her feet. Four sandy blond ponytails stuck out from each corner of the back of her head. In her hand she had a traditional fan which she flipped open to wave at the group of kids lounging upon the front yard.

"Hey Tenten!"

"Hi Temari!" Tenten greeted back. She turned towards her younger group of friends. "Temari is a junior this year. She showed me the works of the school on my first day! It was great!" She finished as Temari joined the group

"What's up Lee? Neji?" Asked the boys. Neji shrugged as Lee gave his famous thumbs up and smile. Her eye caught the teens that were also sitting amongst Tenten.

"So these must be the new freshmen." She smiled from ear to ear. "You three girls live in Tenten's dorm correct?" They fervently nodded. This sempai was intimidating. "Because I'm your dorm advisor! It'll be a fun year so don't sweat it 'kay?" Her teal blue eyes caught something that made her smiled even wider.

"You're Naruto right? Gaara is also going to school here. He'll be excited to see you here!" She informed them. They all responded to Gaara's name. He was a friend of theirs from another country. He once came to their school for a school festival. Gaara was once very cruel. He didn't care for the feeling of others and worried little of the people around him. His father is the ruler of Sunagakura but that's not what made him so cold hearted. It was the neglect his father showed in caring for him. Gaara's mother had died in labor and his father always held a grudge against him. A long lasting grudge it seemed. But after meeting Naruto something changed in Gaara. Both the red head and the blond managed to get into a fight but after beating each other to a bloody pulp Naruto said it was okay. It was alright to be mad. Naruto didn't have a family either but he had friends and people who cared for him and he would also care for them. Ever since then Gaara tried hard to express his care to those around him. He also had formally apologized to both Kankuro and Temari. It was an odd sight to see.

"Wow Gaara's coming here! Alright!" Naruto's blue eyes lit up. He ran up and down high fiving all of his friends whether they were willing or not. He stopped in front of Temari confused. "But who are you?" Temari raised an eyebrow.

"I'm Gaara's sister, Temari. His brother Kankuro is a sophomore here." Shikamaru and Ino both made mental notes. Shikamaru kept any information that was potentially helpful in his mind while Ino only registered Kankuro and sophomore.

"Temari is also captain of the basketball team! Can you believe it? She's only a junior too!" Tenten was bragging for Temari. But that was how she was. Her best friend Hinata never showed off her new clothes or pointed out that she made first place in a competition. Tenten had to tell everyone almost like a proud mother hen. It stayed with her.

"It's nothing big. But I'm positive that you'll have a spot on the team again this year." She winked at the astonished Tenten.

"Really? Can I still be forward?"

"We'll see about that." She was about to finish when she remember something. "Also Itachi says if you keep up the good work you'll be captain of the Kendo Team by the end of the year!" All heads turned at the name Itachi. They turned to look at Sasuke. The black haired boy had slowly growled at the name. He forgot! How could he forget? Itachi also went to this school. Runaway or not he always managed to shine at something or another. There was nothing Itachi could do without looking like the hero in the end. _Mother, Father, I only ran away so I could join my friends in aiding those in need._ Wasn't that his excuse? God only knows if it was true.

"Itachi is captain of the Kendo team?" Sasuke meant for Temari to answer.

"Well yeah. He's been the most kick ass captain we've ever had." She replied nonchalantly ignoring the subtle hints that clearly told her to shut up. "What's it to you?" She nodded towards Sasuke.

"He's my brother." It was silent. Temari had no clue what to say. She never knew Itachi had a brother. Not many people did. He never mentioned the boy. What was she supposed to tell him? Oh that's cool? She settled on sighing and turning towards the girls' dorm. There were girl fighting of something near the opposite end of the building.

"Well I'll see you guys later. It seems like my jobs starts now." She raced away joining in on the screaming girls. One look at Temari and quarrelling girls kept quiet as she kindly explained how it worked around here.

The silence remained in the group. That had not left with Temari like Lee had hoped.

"Well I-it seems l-l-like we should g-go unpack." Hinata suggested.

"That's a wonderful idea." Ino chuckled. She looked to Sakura and whispered, "Let's get out of here." The four girls quickly left leaving the rest of them to sit on the grass.

"Looks like we had better get started." Shikamaru groaned.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Naruto. But I wish I did...

* * *

"Wow what an awesome view!" Sakura exclaimed looking out the window. They were currently sitting in their mediocre living room. The apartment was well furnished. It had a kitchen and two rooms. There one bathroom. Tenten and Hinata would share a room and Ino and Sakura would take the other. That was usually the way things went.

Sakura stared out at the luscious courtyard. She could see the whole entire area. She was able to spot everyone on the road, the high schoolers waving goodbye to their parents, some boys fighting out their goodbyes, and a group of girl hugging and smiling. The beginning of the school year always brought a small joy to her. Ino thought it was weird the way Sakura loved school supply shopping and looking at the back to school ads. But back to school meant more than just learning to her. She could spent most of her day with her friends and now going to boarding school she could spend her whole day with her friends. It was almost like college.

"What? This view? Wait until they send us to the Suna Beaches or Kumogakura mountains. Now that's a view." Tenten lazily retorted as she lounged on the coaches twirling a kunai.

"Why would they send us there?" Hinata asked curiously. Her stuttered always left once she was with her friends. It was almost as if there was an on and off switch.

"You don't know? Did you read all that fine print in that huge pamphlet they gave you?" She looked to the girls. Their faces showed sign of confusion and guilt. The brown haired girl chuckled. "Don't worry. I had no idea until the first move. We're an Elite boarding school. We switch off with other school in different locations. It's to promote diversity. One time our dormitories were castle ruins and palaces. The best one last year had to be the jungle town. You should have seen the café!" She laughed remembering a good time. Lee in a Tarzan costume wasn't something you were willing to witness more than once in your life. All three of the freshmen were amazed. This was even better than they had imagined.

"I could get a hot jungle man to swing me to his place." Ino giggled pulling out the red bikini she had at hand. Hinata giggled.

"As if the vine could stand her weight." Sakura whispered loud enough to Tenten so that Ino could hear. An enormous pillow hit the green eyed girl's face as she shrieked.

"Oh no you did not!" Sakura growl as she pummeled into Ino. Tenten joined in with a barrage of pillows. Hinata idly put away her clothes. A loud knock on the door interrupted them. Someone abruptly entered their room.

"Oy! What the hell is with all the racket?" A girl with pink hair that was much too bright to match Sakura's light hair was standing, arms crossed, at the doorway. She wore over sized clothing and had a lanky rebel attitude that was slightly put off-ish.

"Sorry Tayuya. We were just having a little fun." Tenten muttered. The girl at the door frowned.

"Well keep it down. Some of us aren't stupid enough to bother others with their dumb ass antics." Tayuya slammed the door. Tenten stuck her tongue out in a futile attempt to show her dislike of the girl who was just there.

"What's her problem?" Ino said slowly getting off the ground to unpack. Hinata was frozen, her hands still in folding position.

"That was Tayuya. Augh I cannot stand that girl. She's part of the Sound 5, well, it used to be sound 6 but Kimimaru left them. He went up a grade level. He's a junior now." Tenten shook her head. _Poor thing _she thought.

"The Sound 6? Wait, I mean 5 or whatever. Who are they?" Ino was confused. She thought the girl at the door had to be taught a lesson. She would have gladly gone up and bitched her out if she hadn't left so soon.

"Yeah, well 'Sound' has nothing to do with any of it. It's just that they're the only ones from Otogakure. The only musical one in the group is Tayuya. I have to hand it to her; she's a beast at the flute. She won a couple of competitions for the school. That must be the only reason she still hasn't been kicked out." Tenten waved her hand around in an all knowing fashion.

"There's a rumor going around that she's dating a senior, Hidan. They do have the same personality but that's absurd. I personally thought Tayuya was dating Kimimaru because of the way they always look at each other in that goofy way." She mimicked making her eyes wide and dazed. "It looks so stupid. There are 4 others but I haven't really gotten to know them so much. Just watch out for the twins. They are creepy."

Tenten spread out her schedule as though the conversation before had never happened. She looked through the classes and pulled out a map to highlight the route she would take. The others followed in her pattern.

"Augh I have Gai-Sensei again for gym. This year is going to be hell. And they said Anko was the worst." She mumbled to herself. Ino looked over her paper.

"Is Asuma any good? I have him first." Ino shoved her long blue fingernails at the name printed.

"I have no idea. I never had him or any of your teachers." Tenten didn't even look at their schedule and kept studying her own.

"What on earth do you mean? You went to school here right?" Sakura was annoyed with the lack of help Tenten was giving them. Tenten looked their way and smiled.

"You guys should really read the fine print. Your teachers stay the same all four years. I had Gai as my homeroom teacher. My other teachers were Kabuto sensei, two fresh from college kids Kotetsu and Izuma and a load of others. You're stuck with whatever teachers you have for four years so just hope their good." She laughed when she saw Hatake Kakashi written on her schedule. "Gai-sensei's 'Eternal Rival' is Kakashi. He's says he's much too lazy and hardly arrives on time."

"YEAH. I have him first. This means I can sleep in!" Sakura stuck her tongue out at Ino. The blond threw her hands in the air exasperated.

"That's it. I'm going to get that damn book and spend all night reading it!" Grabbing the pamphlet, Ino sat on the floor in a dramatic fashion.

"Ino we have to go right now. There's an assembly and we do not want to be late." Hinata reminded. They all got up and left the room that was torn apart. Books and clothes were all over the floor. They would deal with the mess later. They walked down the hall. All the doors were wide open and the sound of laughing girls was everywhere. Yes, dorm life was going to be good.

"Guys I have to go somewhere else. Practice and stuff. I'll see you around." Tenten departed without much of a goodbye. She left the girls to aimlessly wander the hallways of the school. Eventually they found the auditorium. Two pale twins stood at either side of the door. They both had light green eye shadow under their eyes that didn't look bad on them. Actually it made them more intimidating. Their bangs were on the opposite directions which helped differentiate between the two.

"Welcome freshmen." One of the boys said as he gestured towards the door.

"Come in and have a nice year." The second one greeted. Something about them was too persuasive. Their voices were smooth like oil. It was hypnotic enough that they just might have been able to make the ladies do just about anything. Ino was inching towards them.

"Sakon Ukon! Dudes come on. Leave these girls alone." A very tan man wearing a spider man shirt rolled his eyes as he walked up to them. He stood in front of the girls. The first things they noticed were his very muscular arms. He winked at them.

"Kidomaru," said the one on the right. "We were only helping out our fellow classmates." He sounded in mock innocence. Hinata would have believed it if she hadn't noticed the small smirk that played on his lips. She didn't like these guys.

"Since when were you one to tell us off." The left one said roughly. He eyed Kidomaru which caused the boy to back up.

"Whoa sorry but these are Tenten's girls." Both twins turned to get a good look at the three in front of them. The one on the left smirked.

"You kn-kn-know T-Tenten?" Hinata asked cautiously.

"Yeah. She's like known for having a strange attraction to anything sharp including that Hyuuga boy." He snickered as Sakon rolled his eyes. The Ino made a note of that. "Anyone in a miles radius is in danger if she has a sharpened pencil in her hands. Tayuya got the bad side of that." Sakon and Ukon were smiling eerily remembering a frightening incident that had something to do with Tenten and a pencil.

"You mean the crazy pink one?" Sakura gasped unsure. _Does Tenten really pick those kinds of fights? _It was unusual for Tenten to bother with that. She was known for her passion of the fight. Yes she did fight often but she had channeled that on the battlefield. Tenten hadn't told any of them of her high school social life. Now that she thought about it Tenten never told them anything about high school. Other than the curriculum, nothing else was said.

"Don't let Tayuya hear you say that." Ukon said a little cryptic.

"Don't mind me saying but aren't you a pink one yourself." Sakon mentioned as he flashed a charming smile. Sakura couldn't help but smile back. Next to her, Ino stifled a giggle.

"You had better get going ladies." Ukon gestured to the door once again. Sakon mimicked his movements but kept the smile on his face.

"You don't want to keep Tsunade-same waiting."

"Thanks." Ino winked back at them as they went through the door. The auditorium was humongous. It was almost like a giant opera house other than the fact there were no balconies. The stage was bigger than any she had seen. Rock concerts could have been played in here. It was that big. They spotted the boys talking amongst themselves.

"I don't like them." Hinata said as they sat down. "They have a creepy feeling to them. Those twins I mean."

"What are you talking about? Those twins were simply charming. One for you and one for me." Ino nudged Sakura who rolled her eyes. "That spider man boy was weird though. Who tans for that long?"

"Hello there Beauty. What took you girls so long? Gaara has been waiting to see you." Sai was the first to notice them. Sure enough a red haired boy was watching them from in between Naruto and Sai. He expressed his 'hello and how was your summer's. There was some seat shifting until everyone was sitting where they preferred too. After some time the light dimmed. _This is over the top_ Shino thought. There was no point to the lighting.

On stage there was a single podium. Behind that sat a group of 8 boys all of them mature and many guessed they were seniors. Sasuke was burning holes into one of the men presented on stage. From behind a curtain a blond lady with a billowing cleavage stepped out. She gracefully walked up to the podium. It could have been the lighting, but for some reason there was a certain glow about the woman. She was confident and radiant. This was Tenten's idol, Godaime Tsunade.

"Welcome new student to Konoha Private High School for the Elite. My name is Tsunade Godaime. You will refer to me as Tsunade-sama. I am proud that you have been able to come here today. This school is not like other high schools. We have many different traditions. We choose our teams differently and we compete not to win but to honor the passion we have. We have a high class cafeteria and are able to rotate too many different countries. We do all this because our students are nothing less than amazing." Her voice was filled with great pride. Pride for a school that she was the principal of.

"With these privileges comes more responsibility." She stared into the audience almost waiting for someone to complain.

Naruto groaned. "I can't stand a responsibility speech," He whispered.

"Here I have selected a group of seniors to explain the rules to you. I hope their advice will help you exceed expectation." She walked to the back and patted her hand on a black haired boy's shoulder. He nodded and got up. Tsunade then walked down to her seat in the front row. The boy was in front of the podium was ready to speak. Sasuke's face hardened.

"Hello. I'm Itachi Uchiha." Naruto froze. They all eyed Sasuke who was ignoring his friends stare. He calmly looked forward clenching his fists. Many girls were in awe including Ino.

"I would like to explain to you behavioral procedures. At our school we pride ourselves on being the best. That means staying out of trouble." His eyes quickly darted to Sasuke. Itachi looked back at the audience.

"Brush up on your etiquette. Remember your manners. Don't do anything to embarrass our school because I warn you, the punishments are severe." He had a cold tone to his voice. The harshness was subtle but to anyone who caught it, it seemed overwhelming. He concluded his speech and sat back down. Tsunade nodded in approval.

"Ha! Itachi said a bunch of pretty words and he's going to get all the credit." A blond haired girl with a very manly voice laughed. Itachi shot her a glare. He whispered something to the boy next too him with blue hair. He got up revealing the swim team logo on his shirt. He approached the podium.

"My name is Kisame. Please call me Kisame-sempai." He grinned, showing off his sharp teeth. It was almost as if he filed his teeth.

"I'm in charge of the swim team. This school's got a variety of clubs and sports teams so we expect you join at least one this year. Even the clubs have competitions. I guess we can be pretty competitive. You need a C average to stay in either a team or club. The only difference between teams at a normal school and our teams is how we choose teams. You need to assemble your won teams then compete against others who have assembled their teams. The winning team gets to represent our school. It's like that for all sports. Football season is starting so you better start recruiting your teams now." With that he left and patted a blond on the back cueing him to go up next. It was almost like a tag team battle.

"See at least Kisame put some effort into it." The Blondie mumbled as he past by Itachi. He lazily slouched against the podium letting his arms dangle on it.

"So you guys probably don't know it 'cause you probably took no time in reading the fine print." Sakura and Ino coughed. "We have a dress code here. It's no biggy though so don't freak out on me." He eyed the girls in the audience gasping as though the end of the earth was upon them.

"So guys need to have a button down white shirt and black pants. During formal meetings you must wear the school coat and tie which you'll find in your closets. If it doesn't fit you can always exchange one. Girls must where black skirts and a white button down shirt. Skirts have to be a decent length not like it matters to me." He smirked looking at the male crowd. Someone in the audience was shouting something.

"What are you saying?" Deidara motioned for the crowd to be quiet.

"Why are you wearing the guys' uniform then?" A boy in the back pointed out. This cause some snickers from the men behind Deidara.

"Why I aught of kill you. I'm a GUY you dip wad!" Deidara threw his hands in the air. He sat back down annoyed as ever. He tagged the red head next to him but the boy shook his head. He motioned for Deidara to listen. He whispered something into the blond girly boy's ear which made him smirk. Deidara walked up to the boy with bleach blond hair and whispered something into his ears. The bleached kid glared at Deidara but reluctantly got up to speak.

"So I'm Hidan not that it should matter to you shits." He smirked. In return he got an angry look from Tsunade who was already tired of his foul language.

"Yeah I'm going to explain our behavioral rules." The whole row of seniors was laughing. Hidan turned to look at them and his face showed pure hatred for the blonde.

"The kid with the most behavioral challenge is going to teach these freshmen? Now that's a hilarious." The swim team kid laughed. Deidara and a kid with oddly shaped glasses were almost rolling on the floor.

"Well you know what? These fucking idiots could learn some pretty damn good lessons from me. You think an ass wipe like you could show them a fucking thing or two? Do ya?" He was heated up. Tsunade had stood up by now.

"Hidan!" She yelled. "Sit down and get someone more competent on this stage." She sat down massaging her forehead. Hidan flushed as he pushed the glasses kid off of his seat. He had spiky black hair and thick rimmed glasses. For some reason they were tinted dark enough that no one could make out the eye color or even look at his eyes.

"Tobi will teach freshmen to be a good boy like Tobi. Tobi is a good boy. To be a good boy like Tobi you must-wait. There are girls here so…" He muttered to himself innocently. His group members smirked or rolled their eyes. His innocent façade couldn't fool them.

"Must we deal with this idiocy?" Tsunade shrieked. She was muttering to herself about the lack of moral and respect when the red head finally got up.

"See," He addressed his fellow classmates. "This is why I thought Hidan should have gone first. Entertainment. Tobi was just the 2 for 1 deal." He looked to Hidan mocking him. Hidan in return gave an unpleasant hand gesture towards him at which Tsunade growled.

"Hello freshmen! My name is Sasori. I'll be explaining behavior due to some problems." He smirked. The audience giggled.

"Please keep all hands and ligaments to yourself. Fights will not be tolerated. If any word of police or gang affiliation is heard of it is an automatic suspension. A perfect example of what not to be like is our good friend Hidan." He waved his arms almost like a game show host.

"He has managed to land himself the most detentions in the history of this school in the 3 years he has been here. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated. You will be severely punished. So unless you wish to break this idiot's record I suggest staying by the rules." Sasori finished his speech and mock bowed. He nonchalantly lingered around Hidan before tapping the person next to the bleach blond casually. Tsunade was mumbling about the fact that there was finally someone with any worth was on the stage.

"So freshmen. My name is Kakuzo. Seeing as many of you are only children and hardly know the value of money, I am going to address to you the financial aspect our humble school. You can buy whatever you please in our lovely cafeteria. That does not stop you from purchasing anything from a grocery store and buying it. Any expenses related to school, such as an extra tie or gym equipment will be addressed at the office building. Thank you." He quietly sat down. He hardly made an impression. His whole body was covered. No skin was shown. In order to cover his face he wore a large cap and tinted glasses as well. It was weird. Tsunade motioned to the final boy to speak up. He was slightly pale. What was very eye-catching was his hair. Much like the rest it was unique to the newcomers. One side was pure black where as the other side was dyed unnaturally bleach like Hidan's. As he got up to the podium, he patted his fellow seniors on the back.

"On behalf of the entire senior class, I send my regard to you freshman and hope for the best. You are our future." He winked and the lights dimmed.

* * *

That's my second chapter and I hoped you liked it. I originally wrote this before but it was super suckish back then. I revamped it and made it more enjoyable to read. :] Haha.

But seriously review because you know how writers love feed back? Well getting some, even if it's not that great, would be nice.

And have a great day! I'll update soon. Very soon because I already have the next 3 chapters done. Teehee.

-RibbonDancer


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own Naruto. But hey if it's any consolation...aw who cares :/ Enjoy!

* * *

After a dramatic ending, the lights brightened once more. The students were piling out of the auditorium through a different entrance which led to a luscious green plot where the older students were already waiting. They were intimidating not because of their class but because of their nonchalance. As the freshman came in, the seniors laughed and pointed. Some even 'called dibs' on the ones they liked the best. Everyone knew it was a freshmen girls dream to date a senior and this was just another way to mess with them. Of all the seniors Hidan was the loudest, bellowing at the red headed boy. Hidan had Sasori in a chokehold.

"Sasori you bitch. Why the fuck would you give me 'Behavior'? Are you fucking blind?" He pulled up on Sasori's collar. Although the gesture seemed painful all of the seniors seemed to be laughing. Some only smirked and some genuinely found it amusing. "I bet you waited all fucking summer to screw with me like that!"

"I bet Sasori did plan it. Bastard's clever like that." Deidara chuckled releasing the boy from Hidan's clutches. Sasori straightened himself out and granted Deidara a high five. _Men in their natural habitat_ Ino thought as she stared at the gorgeous boys in front of her.

Once all of the post entrance speech attendants had seated themselves comfortably upon the green, an African American boy with a purple afro got up to speak. In a heavy Jamaican accent he began to read off a sheet of paper.

"Here are a select group of seniors chosen to guide you freshmen around your new high school campus. Please be courteous as I call your names and the senior who you will be placed with." For a while the boy called out names that were not relevant to the group of freshmen in context. But sooner or later they were called.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Ino Yamanaka. You three are with Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki." The swim team kid waved cheerfully at them and motioned for Naruto, Sakura, and Ino to join them.

"Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akamichi. You both have Hidan and Kakuzu."

"Sasuke Uchiha, oh wow another Uchiha, Shino Aburame, and Sai. You are placed with Tobi and Zetsu."

"Kiba Inuzuka, Subaku no Gaara, and Hinata Hyuuga. Wow, so many familiar names. You three have Deidara and Sasori." He went on with his list as the 11 of them branched off into their respective groups. It was rather awkward for Naruto, Sakura, and Ino to approach the elder Uchiha for they also grew up loathing him due to Sasuke's presence.

"Hello there." Kisame greeted them. He strolled in front of Sakura and gave her a very toothy grin. "My, what pretty hair you have." He went to take a strand of hair to examine it further. She pulled back hard, almost falling back in the process. Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you the big bad wolf?" Ino spat acidly at the boy. She and Sakura exchanged looks.

"Kisame don't frighten them." Itachi calmly responded. He walked towards a mass of buildings and the rest followed. _Shit_ Naruto thought.

* * *

"Oy you! HEY YOU! Come on!" Hidan was fuming. Not only did he have to participate in an embarrassing assembly but he had to give these two annoying kids a tour of his school. One of these kids was either very stupid or retarded because he hardly kept up or paid attention. The other was just fat. _Dumb ass kids._

"Mendokuse." Shikamaru grumbled. The senior he was with was the loudmouth of the bunch. Couldn't he just shut up? The lay out was self explanatory. A simple walk would do. Did he honestly have to reply to everything this senior asked him?

"What the hell did you just say?"

"Nothing."

"No go on repeat it. I dare you."

"I said nothing."

"That's what I thought." A smirk was shown clearly on Hidan's lips. _Annoying_ he thought. Behind him Kakuzu was fiddling around with a coin. He passed it from one knuckle to the next. It was simple trick that made Kakuzu look like a miser. Next to him was the fat kid. The boy had a bag of BBQ lays in his hand.

"Hey Fatty, give me a chip will you?"

Shikamaru stopped right there. He took a large step back.

"I would not have said that if I were you." Before a comment could have been fully comprehended, Chouji charged at the senior.

"Get him off of me. WHAT THE FUCK!" _This year is going to suck, _Shikamaru thought. _Shit_.

* * *

"So Tobi is a good kid. A very good kid. But Itachi isn't. You look a lot like him. That's so funny! Are you a good boy? You seem like it! Well are you?" Although the sun was illuminating intensely on the fine day Sasuke felt darkness around him. It might have been the tense atmosphere he created or just Tobi's shadow over his shoulder. The boy had yet to stop talking because all he did was ask questions or remind them that he was indeed a very good boy.

"Stay away from me you freak." Tobi stopped and looked at Sasuke. He would have given the impression that he was insulted if not for the slight hint of an amusement in the senior's voice.

"Why would you say that? I'm such a good boy!"

"A good boy? Like a nick name." Obsession came into play. Already Sai was analyzing, categorizing, and naming the men he just met. He settled for good boy. Following slowly behind, Shino and Zetsu were having an epic discussion about the welfare of the planet. Both seemed equally passionate about the others interest. Before Sai could control himself he let out his thoughts.

"Tree-Hugger." He pointed to Zetsu. Sasuke quickly covered his mouth hoping to restrain any other flow of idiocy that might escape. They braced for the impact. But nothing came. Almost as if he hadn't even heard anything, Zetsu kept walking on conversing with Shino who gave them a glare (which was hardly visible through his glasses). _Shit_.

* * *

"So you're Sasuke's brother huh?" Naruto interrupted the tour taking place. He wasn't interested in how well kept the lawn was. He knew that Ino and Sakura were just as curious as him to learn more about the elusive Itachi Uchiha they had heard so little about.

"Well my last name happens to be Uchiha." The senior kept walking on.

"Yeah really Naruto. Don't ask stupid questions." Sakura threatened. Curious as she was she held back. No fraternizing with the enemy. She was going to stay loyal to Sasuke. No matter how good looking his brother was.

"Seriously. They have the same dreamy likeness. It's like looking at a much older and mature Sasuke." The words escaped Ino's lips. She snapped out of her dazed and dramatically covered her mouth. Sakura's eyes widened and Naruto gasped. What the hell was she saying?

"Watch out Itachi. It seems like you have another fan girl on your case." Kisame chuckled as he put his hand on Itachi's shoulders. "Damn. How do you do it?"

"I am NOT a fan girl." She was reassuring herself more than she was negating Kisame's statement.

"It's wouldn't be so bad if you were." Sakura replied as she walked ahead. "This means you'll give up on Sasuke." It was frightening but Naruto had gotten used to the mild venom in Sakura's voice. She saved this special brand of sarcasm and malice just for Ino. Of course Ino also had a look reserved only for Sakura. It took their group of friends a while to get accustomed the peculiar friendship the two have. Kisame was getting himself ready to deal with a cat fight. Casually Ino walked side by side with Sakura. She turned to her and sweetly smiled.

"Over my dead body, Bill Board Brow."

"That might be sooner than you think Ino pig." Sakura smiled and cocked her head at Ino. Ino laughed and kept on walking.

"What the hell?" Even Itachi could only nod at Kisame's response_. Shit_.

* * *

"Yo. Sasori-dono. Isn't this kid just hilarious, un?" Deidara let his arm lay harmlessly on Gaara's shoulders. Kiba could feel the glare emitting from Gaara but obviously the senior was immune. Too much time hanging out with Sasori had given Deidara immunity to glares.

"He doesn't say a word, yeah? Should I poke him, un?" As slowly and dramatically raised his finger to poke Gaara, Kiba's hand got in the way.

"Dude. You should obviously use a stick. It ticks him off more." Gaara twitched. He didn't need to be here. He could have gone to Suna's Prep Academy. No one there would bother him. Then again no one there liked him either.

Konoha was an entirely different culture. In Suna one was judged on wealth and background alone. As loving as it's meant to think it is, only the lower class has that caring mentality. But here in Konoha no one cared where you came from. Even someone like Naruto could rise up and defeat the odds. But no. Naruto wasn't here right now. It was Kiba. And the blond idiot reaching over for a stick.

"Don't touch me." Gaara threatened and walked on.

"Woah." The blond senior stared in awe. "He does talk. For a second I thought he was mute, un. Hey come back here!"

"I-I think w-w-we should move o-on w-w-with the t-tour." Hinata stuttered.

"Lovely idea, Miss?" Smiling like a god, Sasori look towards her and held out his hand. She shyly shook his hand.

"H-Hyuuga. Hinata H-Hyuuga."

"Well thank you Miss Hyuuga. Let's shall we?"

"Yeah miss Hyuuga." Kiba laughed. The red head then glared at him. It was a frightening glare due to the fact it was hidden by a smile. Only if one looked close enough could they see the malice in his eyes. Kiba could sense it. _Shit_.

* * *

"Now if you look to your left you'll notice a large campus. These building are for all our recreational sports such as swimming and basketball. You can come here anytime you like. Over there's one of our students." He pointed to a girl with two buns and a kunai in her hand. She ran forward to attack a large straw mannequin.

"Tenten?" Ino looked surprised. She knew Tenten was a master in the martial arts. It's all she really seemed to care about. That and Neji. But weapons? Wasn't that just a little dangerous for high school? Almost as he read her mind Itachi answered calmly.

"She had to fill out lots of paper work in order to keep her weapons here with her."

"She's feisty that one." Kisame licked his lips. Naruto looked disgusted. But when he turned back to look at Tenten a flash of pride and fear ran through him. _Shit_.

* * *

"Hidan remember. It's pleasantly plump." Kakuzu mocked. Hidan was still recovering from the wrestling match he had just encountered. Freshmen were such a joke.

"Shut the fuck up. Damn kids."

As the group kept walking Shikamaru looked towards the clouds. And escape from the tortuous trip he was having.

"Oy! Lazy! Get you're ass over here!"

"Troublesome."

"I'm gonna let that one slide." Hidan shouted right in Shikamaru's ear. "Now listen. There's a cafeteria right on campus but you don't have to eat on grounds. You can go to the town and eat whatever shit you damn well choose. Understand?" He laughed at Shikamaru and knocked on his head implying there was nothing in there. Chouji was getting fed up with the man's antics. For the boy with a high tolerance for stupidity this was getting out of hand.

"I think he does. He has an I.Q. of over 200." Hidan's eyes widened.

"You're shitting me, right?" He turned to Shikamaru. "You're shitting me. You think you're so smart huh?"

"Well yeah." Shikamaru walked forward with his hands over his head.

"Come back here you little shit!" _Shit_.

* * *

"Look! It's the office building. Because Tobi is such a good kid he comes here all the time to help. Hidan comes here often but Tobi never sees him."

"Explain." Shino turned to Zetsu for an explanation. Judging by the lack of enthusiasm on Hidan's part Shino doubted he was a good Samaritan.

"The detention hall is in the same building."

"Sasu-kun can help Tobi! We can become best friends." Tobi grabbed Sasuke's arm. He forcefully pulled back.

"Don't ever call me Sasu-kun." At this statement Sai quickly pulled out his book of all things social.

"But Sasuke. In my book it says that by using two syllables of ones name and adding a suffix you make that person a close friend. Tobi is just trying to be good friends with you. Right Tobi-kun?" Sai gave a bright but extremely fake smile.

"YES. See Sasu. You're friend here is a good boy."

"Shut up." _Shit_.

* * *

"Okay. The last stop of our tour. The most amazing building in all of Konoha. The fabulous and AMAZING," Deidara gave a dramatic pause for affect. "Non Athletic Clubs building." Hinata clapped for the poor boy that put such effort into making this seems interesting. This made Deidara much more enthusiastic.

"This is the sanctuary of all the truths of humanity. The vessel of goodness and love." Deidara held his hands to the sky. Hinata was grasping ever thing he said. It was poetry. To her surprise, Kiba yawned.

"Why are you guys so girly with you're frilly arts and crafts. This is for kindergarten girls, MAN." Kiba mocked. Gaara sighed. In an instant Deidara was clutching Kiba's shirt.

"What did you just say? I dare you to say it again." Sasori was pulling Deidara back. _Shit_.

* * *

I know I used the word _shit_ a lot in this chapter but that's just to make the point that they're in for a hell of a ride. And heads up, there are going to be lots of crack pairing just to have a bit of fun. If you want to know who actually ends up together look at my profile. I rant about my favorite pairing and which ones will definitely not be showing up in this fic.

I'm also thinking of making the chapter title the names of songs so if you have one that really fits message me.

Last but not least I would kind of love a beta reader. So if you're interested contact me.

And remember to review. It's like opening presents on christmas. They make my heart leap.

-Ribbon Dancer


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own Naruto :'[

* * *

"So how were your tours?" Ino said with a bite in her words. If any of them replied back to her in a cheery tone she might have thrown them to the ground. Not only did she have to follow around the most gorgeous man her mortal eyes had ever laid upon but his insane friend tried to make a pass at Sakura, not her. Ino knew she was good looking and she did her best to accentuate her good qualities so there was no reason for him to ignore the blond beauty.

"H-Halfway through, D-Deidara Sempai tr-tried to hurt Kiba-kun." Hinata looked back worried for Kiba who was still rubbing his neck and glaring at Gaara for his lack of help.

"You don't even want to know." Chouji informed them. The process would just bring up newly formed memories that needn't be brought up. Moans escaped all their lips as stories were shared. Gasps frequently left Hinata as she tried to comfort everyone and assure them that their trips were indeed tough. By then Tenten had made her way.

"You guys look…" She couldn't go on. Ino and Kiba were both staring at her daring her to say anything. "Why don't we go to a café? Neji and Lee are already there."

The pathway was paved with the smell of autumn. They passed the main building and entered the fairly large campus town. Well known shops and small boutiques lined the street while students, old and new, wandered aimlessly just looking around or reminiscing. Tenten held the door for them as they entered a popular café. Neji and Lee had saved them as circular booth that would fit all of them.

"I'll take it didn't go well." Neji got up to let them sit down. He was on one end while Sasuke was at the other.

"I hate this school already." Kiba exclaimed.

"It gets better. Don't worry my friends for this will become your home and we will be your family. "Lee patted Kiba on the shoulder in a 'there there' fashion.

"Yeah, Papa Lee's here for us." Naruto chimed in. The waitress came to take their orders and in the process took a glance at Sasuke. She smiled flirtatiously at him but he just looked the other way.

"Ready to order?"

"Two green teas." Tenten pointed at the two Hyuugas. "Four citrus for these guys." Shikamaru raised his hand and pointed to Sai, Chouji, Shino, and himself. "1 diet tea for the blond girl, a raspberry for me, black coffee for the boy with red hair…oh don't give me that look! God knows how little energy you have. The pink one gets jasmine tea and the boy next to her a regular coffee decaf. Two colas, any, for the boy with blond and the kid next to him. That's all."

"So come on! Tell us how it went!" Tenten egged them all. Judging by their looks there were some interesting stories to tell.

"Crazy."

"I'm going to need some pain killers."

"Tobi is an idiot."

"I thought Tobi was fine."

"Sasuke, your brother isn't all that bad." All eyes focused on Naruto and his lack of common sense. He slouched lower in his seat.

"I mean. He doesn't seem like what you described." He looked at Sakura and Ino for support.

"Well he did seem like a gentleman." Ino tried to help but Sasuke's fists were still clenched.

"Of course. That's how he gets to everyone. He's a fake." Sasuke got up to leave.

"Sasuke come on. You know Naruto's a moron. Don't pay attention to him." Sakura grabbed his arm but Sasuke pulled back and got up to leave.

"Sakura. There's no need to defend the Dobe. Its Uchiha's right if he wants to run away from his problems like a coward. He goes on and on about how terrible his brother is but from what I've seen he's a much better person that he is." Neji stared right at Sasuke. The waitress arrived with their drinks and Sasuke sat back down.

"So what after school clubs do you guys plan on joining?" Lee asked hoping to relieve some of the tension. Instantly the mood was lifted as excitement grew.

"Yearbook of course! I need to make sure all of my pictures are in the yearbook. That and cheerleading!" Ino faked a cheer using her hands and almost spilled Shikamaru's drink.

"More like drama club."

"That too! And softball and gymnastics! Let's go around the table, won't that be cute? It'll be like 'That So Seventies Show'. Okay you next Sakura. And don't go into detail. I really don't care about whatever you're joining."

"Fine then. I'm also joining cheerleading and track as well. Plus math team, scholastic bowl, science fair, and Model United Nations."

"God you are such a nerd bill board brow." Ino rolled her eyes. "You're turn Sasuke-kun!"

"Football, swim team, and track."

"No academics Uchiha? What a shame. As for me, I'll be on Swim team, kendo football, track, basketball, chess team, math team, scholastic bowl, and Model U.N."

"And he still has room for free time on his schedule." Tenten chuckled. "As for me it's all sports! Kendo, basketball, volleyball, track, tennis, archery. I even take more self defense and weapons training classes outside of here too. It's all about being fit if I want to be like Tsunade."

"I'm taking all the things Gai sensei took as a student here. Track, kendo, swim team, football, and gymnastics."

"Gymnastics is a girls-"Before Kiba could finish Deidara flashed in his mind. He shivered and kept quiet.

"Well, Gaara?"

"Swim team, football and basketball."

"Sounds nice. I will be sure to take art club and yearbook club. That means more time with Beauty." Ino blushed at Sai's silly flattery. It was a regular thing. Sai never meant anything by it and Ino didn't take it as much.

"OKAY! So I'm going to be the Q.B. for our football team. Not only that I'm going to join the soccer team, wrestling team, and kick ass at track."

"Naruto, I'm going to be the Q.B. I've had actually experience being quarter back. Plus I have better arm strength." Kiba stretched his arms in a mock flex.

"Nu-uh. I'm going to be quarter back."

"Forget Q.B. Why don't you get an I.Q.?"

"C-Come on b-boys. P-Please stop this n-n-now." Hinata held Naruto back. He spilt his pepsi in his anger which was now dripping onto Hinata's lap.

"Damn. Sorry Hinata. Here let me help you with that."

"Don't touch her." Neji threatened as Naruto grabbed a napkin. He lightly handed it to her giving her an apologetic smile.

"It's your turn."

"I p-plan on j-j-joining tennis, b-book club, m-m-math team, s-swim team, and volleyball."

"I think I'll just be the football team's manager if you don't mind. Maybe science Olympiad." Shino stated as he grabbed more napkins to clean the spillage on the table.

"Well I'm going to be Q.B." Kiba shot at Naruto who pretended to ignore him. "And I'm joining wrestling, basketball, and baseball. So there. Your turn bro." Kiba turned to Chouji.

"I want to join the culinary club and wrestling. Footballs a given." He high-fived Kiba. It was silent as they waited for Shikamaru to respond but he was asleep on top of the glass cup. Ino pulled it from under him and his head made contact with the plastic table.

"What the hell was that for?"

"What are you going to do this year?" She pushed him towards Chouji to show her disapproval of his sleeping.

"Damn woman. Be patient, will you? Football, basketball, M.U.N. and chess team."

"Chess team? Really now Shikamaru. You can be such a nerd." Sasuke joked.

"I was on chess team Uchiha."

"My point exactly, Hyuuga."

"Benefits Uchiha. There are always benefits to these things." He leaned back and let Tenten talk.

"Neji won the regional chess tournament. He got a scholarship and a thousand dollars out of it." She joined Neji and bumped fists.

"Yeah. Sign me up for chess." Shikamaru sighed and laid down on the table. He was greeted by tea.

"What the eff?"

"Sorry. I spilled some tea a while ago. I forgot to clean that up." Naruto high fived Kiba.

"Move. I'm going to go wash my face. See you guys back at the dorms."

"Oh come on! It wasn't even on purpose." Kiba groaned. But Shino agreed.

"It's getting late guys. Let's go finish unpacking." They dispersed and Tenten, Lee, and Neji had stayed back to pick up the tab.

"Freshmen are so weird aren't they?" Tenten sighed as they walked out the door feeling the evening on her cheeks. Lee put his arms around their shoulders.

"They are youthful. Fresh and new. It's our responsibility to guide them on their journey to knowing."

"Lee. You should write haikus. Go perform at a poetry slam. But please not for us." Neji rolled his eyes and put his arms around Lee's shoulders too. Tenten pushed between them and linked her arms in theirs.

"What a funny bunch huh? It's going to be an eventful year." They walked for a while admiring the beauty of the evening sun. They walked onto the campus lawn and stood there for a second.

"And how do you know this?" Neji unlinked his hand and dug his hands into his pockets.

"The gang's finally together. Plus I can just feel it and my feelings are usually correct." Lee nodded in agreement. Tenten looked at Lee in awe.

"Bring it."

* * *

So it might not have been the best of all the chapters. It was a little tedious but needed to bring some of the latter ideas together. I'm especially happy with the ending.

Review 3

-RibbonDancer


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Hinata had a troubling sleeping that night. At only 3 she had woken up and laid on her bed. Across the room Tenten snored while defensively gripping a panda Neji had bought her for her 8th birthday. The early hours of the morning were when Hinata did most of her thinking. Not that she didn't think any other time. But everyone has their own time when they feel at peace. She stared at the ceiling wondering what would happen in the day to come. Why was it that she was here? Other than the fact her father would reject her if she hadn't, Hinata was only her for her friends. Honestly any other high school would have sufficed. Because everyone was excited and thrilled to go to school, Hinata was swept up in the hype as well. Now that she was away from the commotion she didn't see the point to it all. Recently she has been feeling a lot like Shikamaru. Spells of depression fell upon her and she began to think there is no reason for anything to happen at all. If she disappeared no one would notice. She was the quiet one of the group, the wallflower. Tenten had her sophomore life at school and Sakura and Ino were too close to become a third wheel for. Shino and Kiba would worry at least. They were her closest friends, aside from the girls. What she would do without them she didn't know.

She reached over for her alarm clock and checked the time. 4:30. She might as well get up. After showering and thoroughly drying her hair the clock turned 5. Sakura groggily moaned in the other room. It would be another 30 minutes before her alarm clock went off.

* * *

In the kitchen Hinata was mixing batter in some old bowl she scavenged from the cardboard boxes still piled in the living room. An obnoxious alarm clock screamed into Sakura's ear. She hastily pushed the little frog on top of her alarm clock. _Just five more minutes?_ As Sakura debated whether or not it was worth it to waste the 5 minutes her snooze button gave her, Ino's own alarm clock rang. Unlike her pink haired counterpart Ino bounced out of bed. Sakura's eyed flashed open in realization.

"Oh no you're not, Ino pig!" She raced out of bed to catch up with her already awake friend.

"You snooze you lose, cherry top!" Ino stuck out her tongue and swiftly slammed the bathroom door. Sakura stood there for a while still processing. Once she realized there was no way she could get Ino out of that bathroom, Sakura retired into Tenten and Hinata's room and sat at the foot of Tenten's bed.

"Hey Ten. You want to wake up?" She pushed the covers away from Tenten's head. The girl was very pretty. Sakura wondered if Tenten got lots of love letters in high school. She never talked about her love life but it was inevitable that Tenten didn't have one.

"Tenten. Did you hear me? Get up. It's already 5:42." Sakura got off the bed as Tenten slowly got up from under the covers.

"Is anyone using the bathroom?"

"Yeah Ino."

"Then I have an hour to sleep. Go away."

Sakura sighed realizing defeat. How anyone could sleep as long as Tenten was beyond a doubt. To much sleep makes one groggy all day. Sakura walked into the kitchen, the smell of pancakes greeting her.

"Wow Hinata. You really outdid yourself today!" Sakura eyed the pancakes with avarice. She grabbed a plate and sat down.

"Your teeth?" Hinata motioned towards the bathroom.

"Ino's in there. I'll just wait I guess." She pushed the plate away and sat on the carpeted floor. She made carpet angels as Tenten shuffled towards her. Hinata asked the same question to Tenten who said she'd brush her teeth later.

The bathroom door opened suddenly. Shower fog sprayed out making creating a dark shadow where Ino was standing. She checked in the mirror one last time before leaving the bathroom. Clothes in hand, Sakura pushed Ino out of the way.

"Chill. Let me finish applying some more eyeliner."

"Shut up. You look great. Now get out."

"You really mean it?"

"Pinky promise. Now will you leave?" Ino stepped out of the bathroom. She wore her uniform skirt and shirt. The idea that every other girl in school would be wearing the same clothes she had on disgusted her. Not that she didn't like the outfit itself but she was one of a kind so her clothes should be as well.

"Hina! You look like such a housewife behind the counter there. I bet Naruto would just love to see you in an apron?" Ino winked causing a massive blush to cover Hinata's face. Tenten rolled her eyes and grunted.

"Morning to you too." Ino sat down for breakfast. She was so excited for the day. Nothing could possibly ruin the mood for her. She was wearing her favorite eye shadow, her lucky best friend charm bracelet with the little pig charm on it, had her school supplies ready to go and she was eating the best pancakes in the world. Nothing could possibly ruin her morning. Nothing.

"Ino, you realize we're going to school not club." Almost nothing.

"Are you telling me I look trashy?"

"No, it's just that you'll distract every guy in class. You don't want everyone to do as bad as you, right?" Ino took the backhanded compliment and returned it with a glare. Sakura walked out of the bathroom.

"My turn." Tenten rushed out of the kitchen and into her room. As she entered the bathroom she tripped spilling the contents in her hand tumbling to the ground at Ino's feet.

"Oh. My. God. You have got to be kidding me Tenten, you're seriously wearing pants? That's the guys uniform." Ino whined picking up the black skinny pants. Tenten grabbed them and looked at Ino innocently.

"You can't expect me to kick ass in a skirt?" Tenten closed the bathroom door.

"You should be more worried about having an ass." Ino yelled back. "Can you believe that girl? How is she supposed to get a boyfriend when she can't even act like A PROPER CHICK!"

"A PROPER CHICK?" Tenten screamed from the bathroom. "INO YOU HAVE GOT TO BE JOKING!"

"YOU KNOW I'M NOT. WOMAN UP WILL YOU?" Ino retaliated. It was quiet meaning that the battle had ended for the time being. Tenten rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. What a sexist thing to say! Who says she can't wear pants? Tsunade-sama supported her 100% in her battle against the uniformed skirts so why couldn't stupid Ino realize there's nothing wrong with wearing pants.

"YOU WEAR PANTS TOO YOU KNOW! YOU'RE SO OLD SCHOOL INO. "

"I swear someday I am going to shove that girl into a tube top and she will thank me for making her look so good." Ino then proceeded to bring her voice down to a whisper just in case Tenten heard. "I mean seriously, how is she supposed to get Neji if she doesn't even show off what she's got?" Sakura rolled her eyes and Hinata giggled. Tenten rushed out of the bathroom and grabbed her book bag.

"Where are you in such a hurry?" Ino looked her up and down as Tenten hastily put up her buns.

"Promised to meet some of my sophomore friends before class. Sorry I can't hang with you freshies. I mean it would totally ruin my rep." She sprinted towards the door. "Just kidding." She left the apartment without even closing the door.

"We might as well leave too."

* * *

Ino walked down the cosmic hallways. Never in her life had she been to a high school this big. She just wished Sakura was walking next to her to help her out. All three of them had different classes first period. But perhaps there would be one person she knew in her class. She pushed the door open and as she entered the room her eyes locked on two kids sitting in the back.

"NO WAY!" She shrieked causing several students to snap their heads in her direction. Ignoring the commotion she caused, Ino stomped all the way to the back and dropped her book bag in front of the two boys.

"I can't believe I'm in first period with you two lazy bums AGAIN! It's like kindergarten, and elementary school, and middle school, and now high school?" She sat next to Chouji holding her head in her hands in a frustrated manner.

"Good to see you too." Shikamaru looked towards the front of the room. Ino was ranting again like she does every year. He tuned her out practically saying the speech in his head. _You do realize that every year we have at least one class together? Do I ever get rid of you guys?_ No duh, Ino. Ever since they were born the three had been pushed together. Their parents were best friends and now their children are too. As much as he despised Ino's constant talking or her boy troubles he had to admit she was on of his closest friends. And he knew as much as Ino denied it, claiming that Sakura was her best friend, Chouji and him came first. Not that it mattered to much too him.

"Look we're not too thrilled to have you here either." This started a whole new speech on how rude what he just said was. _Were practically family and you're telling me you don't want me here? Do you hate me?_ There was no winning with Ino. Shikamaru sighed and accepted defeat. He smirked at Chouji who was calming Ino down. Chouji was always the mediator, the level headed one. Only he could really calm Ino down. Shikamaru only made it worse.

"Ino, you know Shikamaru's an idiot. Personally I'm very glad were all together in at least one class." He patted Ino's shoulders and looked towards Shikamaru. He smiled back.

"I know. I'm sorry about what a said." Ino pouted innocently. She then narrowed her eyes towards Shikamaru. He really wanted to tell her she looked like a harpie but he knew that wasn't what she was looking for.

"And I'm sorry for my terribly rude comment." He rolled her eyes and looked the opposite direction. The bells rang and students rushed to sit in their desks. A man with a cigarette hanging from his mouth walked in. He look calm, laid back. This was the type of teacher to have. The type that didn't push you too much but let you float a little in his class. Shikamaru should have chosen a window seat.

"I'm Asuma-sensei. I'll be your homeroom teacher for this year. Now I'm going to call you up here to get your textbooks." Asuma began to call names.

"He gets right to it doesn't he. No formal introduction or anything." Ino said in disdain. But Chouji enjoyed that about Asuma sensei. He seemed like a get to the point guy. No beating around the push.

"Chouji Akimichi." Chouji got up and rushed down to meet his new teacher. "You have book #17 a personal favorite of mine." He joked.

"Oh thank you sir!" Chouji saluted the man a rushed back up to his seat. Ino rolled her eyes. "You can be so lame sometimes."

"Ino Yamanaka."

"That me!" She march down to great her new teacher. Chouji couldn't believe Ino had called him lame when she was the one already kissing up to the teacher. She couldn't honestly believe he would buy her little miss sunshine act could she? Apparently not because Ino walked back to her seat frowning.

"Someone needs to take the stick out of that guy's ass."

"He seems fine to me." Ino stuck he tongue out at Chouji.

"Shikamaru Nara." Shikamaru slowly got up and casually walked down towards Asuma.

"Book #19. I hope to see some good work from you this year."

"Will do sir." Shikamaru walked back to his desk. "He's not a bad guy."

"Just shut up."

* * *

"Hey guys! Can you believe were in the same class! This is so exciting." Sakura sat to Naruto's left and set up her supplies in front of her. Naruto grabbed her eraser and tossed it towards Sasuke.

"Good morning Sakura." He said as Sasuke caught the white block.

"Morning." Sasuke replied. He watched as the two fussed about something or another. Sakura didn't like Naruto's shirt and Naruto replied back saying Sasuke was wearing the same one. The two never shut up. Why he was their friend was a surprise to Sasuke. He watched as Sai walked in. He looked at the spot next to Sasuke which was suddenly taken by a girl with blond and black hair. She smiled at Sasuke but he just looked towards the seat next to Sakura. He motioned for Sai to sit there.

"Looks like a have to sit next to you, ugly dog." Sai sat next to Sakura who glared daggers at him. The bell rang.

"So you were saying Naruto?"

"Well we are in high school now you know. And remember how you said you'd give me a chance in high school?" Naruto shifted nervously in his seat. Sai laughed while Sasuke snickered. Naruto knew what was coming.

"Naruto are you for real? It's only the first day of school and you're already asking me out. Look, we're really close friends and I don't want you ruining that. I know for sure that if we did date, you'd ruin it by just being yourself and then we wouldn't be best friends. You see my logic here?" Sakura patted his hand. But Naruto took it well partly because it was a repeat of last year and the year before that. He look at Sasuke with malice. If it weren't for the pretty boy Uchiha he might have actually had a chance.

"Don't look at me dobe. It's your fault girls don't like you." Naruto punched Sasuke's shoulder.

"So we're best friends?" Naruto looked back at Sakura.

"Of course. But we're not super duper best best friends though. That would be Ino." It came out before Sakura had a chance to filter out her thoughts. She had that problem. It was almost like she had an inner self. In her younger days she was shy and quiet. People picked on her all the time. Ino helped her realize it was okay to be yourself. Sakura created an inner alter ego. Her inner Sakura who would say anything she liked. But by the fifth grade, no one liked her inner Sakura so she had put a filter on it. Think before you speak. But sometimes she forgot that mantra.

"Super duper best best friend?" Sasuke questioned her trying not to laugh but it was evident that he was going too. He turned to Naruto and Sai with a amused look. Sai got up and kneeled in front of Naruto.

"Naruto, will you be my super duper best best friend?" He asked innocently.

"I don't know Sai. You see Sasuke is already my super duper best best friend. I'll have to ask him." Naruto shifted towards Sasuke. "Do you mind if Sai also becomes my super duper best best friend?" It was times like these that Sasuke became out of character. When it was just him, Sakura, Naruto, and Sai.

"But Naruto. It hurts knowing you'd choose Sai as well. I thought I was your only." He mocked sadness. All three of them were laughing. Sakura was fuming.

"Caught it out you jerks. Shut up already." She slouched in her seat angry.

"Oh come on Sakura. We were just joking." Naruto pushed her shoulder a little bit. "If it makes you feel any better you can be Sai's super duper best best friend." They laughed once more. Before Sakura could retaliate a man with white hair and a a doctors mask came into the room.

"Hello class. I am Kakashi Hatake. I will be your Algebra teacher for the year. Any questions?" Naruto raised his hands. "I know, I know. You're wondering about the mask. Well as a child I was quite sick quite often. It was a tragic time in my family's life. From then on I wore this mask to prevent hurt and pain to those I love."

"No sir, I'm just wondering why you're late?" Naruto gave Sasuke a quizzical look. "Who is this guy?" He whispered.

"I can hear you, you know?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "You see there was this old lady who needed help crossing the road, and then needed help carrying groceries to her car."

"Bull." Naruto whispered.

"I can hear you." Kakashi looked eerily at Naruto. He shivered and slouched lower into his seat.

"Just kidding, sir."

* * *

Hinata entered her classroom nervously. She hoped to find some old faces. She looked towards the back of the room to find Shino and Kiba who both looked like they were wrestling something in their hands. She quickly rushed to the back.

"W-What's g-g-going on?" She noticed Akamaru in Kiba's hands trying hard to get out.

"The moron brought him to class. We are so going to get expelled."

"Shino you're such a buzz kill. I mean, I can't just leave him in out room. Poor guy would miss me too much. Right Hinata?" Kiba flashed her a charming grin. She rolled her eyes and sat to the right of Kiba. She pulled Akamaru out of his hands and put him on her lap. Akamaru stopped squirming and licked her hand.

"Lucky dog." Kiba joked rubbing Akamaru's ears. Shino rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe how oblivious Kiba was being. It would only be a matter of time before the rest of the crew realized what was going on. The bell rang and a lady with black hair and unnaturally red eyes walked in.

"Hot." Kiba whispered towards Shino. He just sighed knowing Kiba was a major player. "Think I could scored with her?"

"Hello. My name is Kurenai-sensei and I'm your homeroom teacher for this year." She went on to describe the curriculum for the year. As Shino kept paying attention, Kiba was messing around with Akamaru.

"Shhhhh." Hinata warned him.

"Oh come on. Live a little." He whispered back.

* * *

So that's their first day. I hoped you enjoyed another marvelous chapter.

Review por favor. It would make my day.

-Ribbon Dancer


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Naruto

* * *

The bell rang and Sakura jumped out of her seat. Fifth period finally ended. As exciting as Asuma-sensei was, Sakura was looking forward to lunch with all her friends. So far she had seen Sasuke, Naruto, Sai, Kiba, Hinata, Gaara, and Shino. But she wanted to see the rest of her school mates. She rushed to her locker and grabbed her things. As she turned around she bumped into a boy with shoulder length brown hair.

"I am so sorry. I just, I didn't mean to bump into you." She looked up at the boy who just smiled.

"It's okay. You must be a freshman?"

"Yeah. How did you know?" He pulled her out from the middle of the hallway. "Well I've been here for a year and the only other person with pink hair I know is Tayuya." Sakura shuddered remembering the violent sophomore.

"Then you're a sophomore!"

"Oh yeah, sorry, my name is Idate."

"I'm Sakura Haruno."

"How about I walk you to lunch? We're all on our way there anyways." They pushed out of the way and walked with the hoards of students rushing towards the cafeteria.

"Everyone has lunch now? It seems to inefficient." She didn't mean to sound like a nerd.

"No actually the upper classmen have off campus privileges. Instead of tracking down everyone one of them the faculty decided it would easier to have them all go at the same time. So we all have lunch together. It's kind of convenient." The walked through doors into the largest courtyard known to man. Tables lined the grass along with trees, shrubbery, bushes and flowers. There were even manmade hills located in the courtyard. A yellow stoned path led to the lunch lines which were like food courts. Sakura couldn't believe her eyes.

"No way. This is too cool." She gasped. Idate laughed looking at her. From their table under a large willow tree Ino spotted Sakura.

"How is it that it's only been 4 hours and Sakura's already got a guy." All head turned to see Sakura laughing with some boy. He led her towards the lunch lines.

"AUGH. It's not fair at all. The closest I got was almost getting a cute lab partner. Stupid bill board brow."

"There there Ino. You always have me." Kiba winked. She just rolled her eyes and placed her head on the table. An empty lunch tray landed on their table. Naruto violently slammed the table with Sakura right behind him.

"THEY DON'T HAVE RAMEN!" He complained. Sasuke slapped him against the head.

"You don't have to scream you dumb ass."

"Where's Tenten. Maybe she'll know where to find some." Naruto look across the table towards Hinata. Instead Ino responded.

"Probably sitting by her sophomore friends. You saw her this morning. She's just TOO cool to hang out with a couple of lame freshmen." Ino rolled her eyes. Another lunch tray landed next to her as Neji sat down.

"Gossiping again Ino?" He laughed at her.

"Don't get me wrong. But we're not her only friends."

"But you are my closest which is why I'm sitting with you guys." Tenten sat in between Neji and Gaara. She turned her head towards Sakura looking very excited.

"So you and Idate! When did that happen? He's so cute I'm almost jealous." Tenten looked towards Ino who was just as curious as she was but for a different reason.

"Almost? Is there someone we should know about Tenten dear."

"Oh you know me. I got the perfect guys right here." Reaching out Tenten grabbed Lee from behind her. They all laughed as a confused Lee sat down on Tenten's lap.

"But seriously, who is Idate?" Ino motioned for Sakura to speak.

"Oh, I just accidentally bumped into him in the hallway and he offered to walk me to the cafeteria."

"I should use that trick on someone." Ino said. "By the way, what is up with Kakashi-sensei. He was freaking 10 minutes late to class!"

"He was late to our class too, beauty. He used the excuse that he had to help-"

"-an old lady cross the street then help her with her groceries." Lee finished Sai's sentence. He looked around with pride. "Gai-sensei said to first know your enemy you should know his habits. He has all of Kakashi-senseis excused memorized."

"I'd like to meet this Gai-sensei of yours." It was the first time Gaara had joined in the conversation. "I have Anko-sensei instead."

"Augh, what a pain." Shikamaru groaned. "I just had her. But what was even worse was that Temari girl. She has the same period gym class as us." He pointed towards Sai.

"I thought you liked her. You said she was a riot correct?" Sai blabbed innocently. Shikamaru buried his head in his hands. He wasn't going to here the end of it.

"Ohhh, Shika's got that hots for a junior girl. Ow ow!" Kiba laughed with Akamaru on top of his head.

"K-Kiba. Be n-nice."

"Look Hinata, it's okay to tease Shikamaru about this. He's never had much of an interest in girls anyways. He needs to get a girlfriend soon." Ino said as Chouji nodded in agreement. Shikamaru wanted to murder the both of them. But again Sai was ever so helpful.

"Beauty, why is important to have a girlfriend?"

"Look it's just…well they make school much more fun. Am I not right?"

"LOOK. I NEED MY RAMEN NOW! Iruka promised they would have some at this school and I want some now!" Naruto was getting very fussy. They looked towards Tenten for the answer.

"I don't know!" She huffed and went back to her burger.

"BUT I NEED IT-" Before he could finish a paper fan hit him in the back of the head. "What was that for?"

"Temari," Gaara looked up at his older sibling. "What are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd check up on you is all. It's better than Kankuro coming here right." She laughed as Gaara smiled looking down at his food. The fact that Gaara of the sand smiled was a shock to the rest but it didn't stop Naruto from complaining.

"My ramen?" Temari sighed. She grabbed his shoulders and turned him around. Pushing through the skinny branches of the tree she pointed to a table where Kisame and Itachi sat.

"You see that table there. Ask for Kakuzo and get some ramen from him. He'll have it." Naruto ran of without a thought.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered thinking of his torturous tour.

"Oy, Pineapple head. What did you say?" She snickered at him.

"Pineapple head. That's a good one!" Chouji complimented the upper classmen who took it as an invitation to go on.

"Your free throws were pretty good. Ever thought about joining the girls basketball team?" She smirked as the rest of the tables laughed. Shikamaru was ready to retaliate.

"Yeah maybe, but hey, aren't you the on the boys wrestling team?" Shikamaru smirked back triumphantly. She glared at him then shook it off with a laugh.

"Clever, I'll give you that kid. " She sat down next to Sakura, across from Shikamaru. The rest of the table was waiting for her next move.

* * *

"Hey excuse me." Naruto stood in front of a bunch of seniors. They turned to look at him. It was frightening just being there let alone talking to them. "I have 5 bucks. Is that enough to buy ramen from Kakuzo?" Someone grabbed his money and handed it to a guy with dark sunglasses. The boy got up and left with his money. Kisame look up at him.

"You're the kid I toured right? Itachi's brother's friend right? How's it going man. Sit down!" The Kisame moved over and made room for him. Naruto sat down cautiously.

"We'd ask Sasuke to sit with us but he'd just spit acid in our face." Naruto laughed with him. It did seem like something Sasuke would do. Kakuzo returned with a bowl of ramen.

"Here you go." He gave Naruto the ramen and returned the five dollars. Naruto gave them a confused look.

"It's on me." Kisame winked. Naruto thanked them. As he got up, Kisame pulled him back down. "Eat it up here. You'll spill it."

"Wait. What's with the 'let's be friends' act, yeah?" The blond dude asked as if Naruto wasn't present. Itachi passed him a note. The blond boy looked at Naruto, then at Itachi, then back at the note. He nodded to Itachi and noticed Naruto watching him.

"Eat."

"So who are the rest of you?" Naruto asked. Kisame began to introduce the table to him.

"That's Deidara, Sasori, Hidan, Kakuzo, Itachi, you've met. All the way at the end there's Zabuza and his group of followers or whatever. Next to him is Haku, cute kid." A petite girl sat next to a large and menacing man who nodded at Naruto.

"Cool. Look I should really get back. My friends are waiting." Naruto needed any excuse to get away from the weirdness of the table.

"Sure. Come back anytime man." As he got up, he noticed Itachi whispering in Kisame's ear. They both looked at Naruto. As he left he heard Deidara yell something.

"Making friends with that kid has nothing to do with our plan." After that the rest was muffled. Instead he heard laughing from his own table.

"What's going on?" He found Temari and Shikamaru glaring at each other. He sat down next to her. Kiba was laughing to hard to explain what it was that was going on.

"So did they kick you out the moment you got your ramen?" Temari asked him. He look confused.

"No. The Kisame guy wanted me to sit and eat lunch with them. He also paid for my ramen." Lee choked on his noodles while Neji and Tenten stared wide eyed at Naruto.

"You're kidding right?" Temari looked at him like he was some sort of alien.

"No?"

"The Akatsuki actually let you sit with them?" Lee asked utterly surprised.

"The Akatsuki?" Sasuke turned to Neji for an answer.

"They call themselves the Akatsuki. Well the two at the end aren't part of the Akatsuki. That would be Zabuza and he's Haku."

"No way. I thought he was a girl!" Naruto looked back to make sure he wasn't going blind. No, he did look like a she.

"Either way, they're a suspicious bunch. They keep to themselves but even as reclusive as they are they happen to be the most popular bunch in the entire school."

"Oh shit." Naruto looked at everyone. "Something's going on with them." He told his story about the note and 'the plan'.

"A plan? What plan?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"I don't know. It's not like I can go ask them about it." Naruto shrugged. As he did a boy with an unnatural amount of eyeliner walked towards them.

"Hey Gaara, Hey Tenten. Neji, Lee." He nodded as he greeted them.

"Hey Kankuro." Ino batted her eyes. Tenten rolled her eyes in disgust.

"Ino." Kankuro smiled back. He look at the rest of the table and greeted them all. Kankuro was a sophomore just like Tenten.

"So what are you guys talking about?"

"The Ak-" Shikamaru kicked Naruto from under the table.

"Nothing." He replied for him. Kankuro raised an eyebrow.

"Well I just came over to say hi." He smiled at Ino one more time before he left. Naruto punched Shikamaru.

"Why'd you kick me!"

"He doesn't need to know." Shikamaru responded. "Besides we're just talking. It's not like they're actually doing something."

"Or maybe not." Sasuke replied.

* * *

Review please :]

-Ribbon Dancer


	7. Chapter 7

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

* * *

The day dragged on for Ino. It had only been a week and she was sick of school and the routineness of it all. Although there wasn't much to the week, something had been bothering her. Ino was slightly worried about Sakura. It was random and didn't even matter too much until two days ago after lunch. She saw Sakura and Sasuke walking together to class. She tried discreetly to pull her aside without looking upset but it turned out that they had at least four classes together. It worried her, greatly. It wasn't the fact that Sakura and she both at one point had crushes on Sasuke. She got over that forever ago. But she knew Sakura hadn't gotten over Sasuke no matter how many times she tried to deny. She pretended like she did. Spending so much time with Sasuke was going to bring all those feelings back. Ino didn't want that for her friend. She had to get Sakura with a guy soon. Very soon. She grabbed her shoulder bag and walked towards the door. Outside Gaara was waiting for her.

It was odd having a class with Gaara. She sat by him and had a normal conversation but it was awkward. It wasn't like talking to Naruto or Chouji. They were outgoing. It wasn't like Gaara didn't talk back but it was almost as if he was trying to hard to look interested. It was nice of him to wait for her though, almost like a gesture of friendship.

"Gosh math is so boring!" Ino huffed pulling Gaara through the halls. She stopped by her locker and dropped off her books. "I mean as entertaining as Kakashi-sensei is I hate the subject." She walked with him towards his locker. "What do you think about math?"

"I like it," He gently placed his books into his locker. "It's the same in every country."

"A mean girls quote? Gaara you are so fetch." Ino giggled as she locked arms with him. Gaara look down then back at her.

"Mean girls? I'd rather not be called a girl."

"No silly. It's just a quote from one of my favorite movies ever." As they walked outside Gaara accidentally bumped into an Indian girl with a light brown streak in her hair. She had heavy eye liner on and wore a yellow tee-shirt and skinny jeans. Behind her was fairly large group of kids holding skateboards and multiple piercings. She dropped her skateboard and stared nervously at Gaara.

"I'm so sorry sempai." She was nervous tugging at her t-shirt. She looked at Gaara and Ino. Ino hastily unlocked their arms and motioned that they were in no way dating or an item. She even mimicked gagging. Gaara paid no attention. He got down and picked up her skateboard. Unlike Kankuro's skateboard, which was covered in band stickers or rude symbols, this girl had an elephant and a sticker of a blue man with a red dot on his forehead. He handed it towards her.

"I'm just a freshman. The name's Subaku no Gaara." She took her skateboard back. She clutched it for dear life. After hearing he was only a freshman her grip loosened. She held out her shaking hand.

"I'm Janaki Krishnamoorthy. Friends call me Johnny." She swallowed hard and gave Gaara another nervous glance. Gaara shook her hand and noticed she was awfully cold. Just then a boy with white hair and green eyeliner stood next to her. He grabbed her arm.

"Johnny let's go." He glared at Gaara and winked at Ino. "It's nice to see you again." He looked back at Gaara one last time before pulling the girl away. She gave him a parting look before shuffling back to the group of skaters and Goths. Ino pulled Gaara towards the school exit. As they left the building Ino looked back at the grey haired boy.

"That was Ukon. I'm sure of it." Gaara raised an eyebrow. "I met him during the freshmen orientation. He seemed like a nice guy." They walked the rest of the way, both lost in thought. They reached the same café as the day before. There, at the same booth, their friends waited for them to arrive.

"Geez what took you two so long." Sakura's fingers impatiently tapped the table. Shikamaru had sent them all emergency texts about something. But he refused to tell them until everyone had arrived.

"Sorry. Gaara had a run in with some really cute girl on our way here." Everyone froze and looked at Gaara. "She was totally into him. And as far as I could tell Gaara wasn't exactly telling her to go away." Of course she exaggerated the situation a little but the way Temari's eyes lit was priceless.

"Way to go man." Kiba patted Gaara on the back who smiled embarrassed. "So what's she like?"

"She's like part of this group of skaters or whatever." Ino couldn't exactly put into words what that group was. "Just a bunch of misfits."

"She's different." Gaara meekly let out. A gasp escaped Hinata's lips.

"Damn." Was all Naruto could really say. Everyone was trying to imagine the girl Ino described. Goth, skater, what else?

"So what does she look like?"

"Is she pretty?"

"Did you get her number?"

"What's her name?"

"Instead of discussing Gaara's non existent love life why don't we all pay attention here." Shikamaru waved his hands in front of his face to catch the others attention. Gaara mouthed 'thank you'. Shikamaru nodded back as everyone settled down.

"So what's with your emergency text? Does the resident genius have a plan?" Temari smirked at Shikamaru. He didn't understand what it was about this woman that ticked him off so much. Was it her coy attitude or the fact that he couldn't fight back against her. He just ignored her comment and looked towards the masses.

"So I was thinking about the 'plan'" He put into air quotes. "the Akatsuki had." It bothered him not knowing what was going on. Like a puzzle that needed to be solved, he had to find out whether this plan was something worth worrying about or not.

"We all have." Kiba yawned putting his arm around Ino. She slapped it away with a laugh.

"Well I've been thinking about maybe this plan is something we should know about. Obviously it has something to do with Naruto and quite possibly Sasuke if Itachi is involved. But before coming to some random conclusion we have to make sure that this isn't just some joke. I mean do we really know if these people are up to no good? We have to find out if they're actually bad people or not." Shikamaru slouched back.

"Wait? You want a background check on the Akatsuki?" Neji gaped at him. Never has Neji gapped at anyone. Only the stupidest people are gapped at. "You're insane. You can't just order a background check on them!"

"Why not? You're a Hyuuga. Just have your people do it."

"My people do it? Do you hear this guy?" He looked towards Tenten as if to tell her to do something.

"Look Shikamaru, it's not that it's impossible. It's just that it is. If there was anything about the Akatsuki it's gone now. The only thing that shows up about any of them online are good things like Itachi winning the kendo championships." Tenten's eyes widened as she spoke about Itachi's winnings. This didn't go unnoticed. Sasuke's fists clenched. "Look we already checked. You think Neji isn't as paranoid as you?"

"That's just the thing. Everything they've ever done in high school is covered up. It's practically impossible to find something on them. They're too perfect. There's only one place even they couldn't possibly mess with. Look guys, you all know me as the lazy genius. I still am but I want to find out what's up with these guys." They patiently waited for Shikamaru to go on. The waitress came by with their orders. Shikamaru grabbed a burger and took a bite.

"I think we should look at their permanent records." Everyone's reactions were different. Kiba choked on his burger as Chouji tried to help him. Neji froze and looked at him like an alien. Naruto started laughing.

"You're so funny man. Seriously what do we do?" Shikamaru calmly took another bite.

"SHIKAMARU! Are you serious?" Ino grabbed his ponytail and made him look at her. He pushed her hand back.

"Look we've done things that were much worse. Remember eighth grade? We helped Naruto cheat on his exams to get into this school. You think it would be harder than that?"

"We only bumped him up three points in math!" Sakura threw her hands in the air. "It wasn't even that hard. Tsunade-sama kept the files right in the open like she wanted us to change them. I don't expect her to have their files right where I can get them. Beside she keeps her most important files on her laptop which there is no way we can get." She folded her arms. Shino looked at Shikamaru then back at Sakura.

"She must have a hard copy somewhere." Shino stirred the fruit mixture in front of him. It wasn't like he was going to agree with the ludicrous plan but there was no point in arguing. Whenever these idiots came up with a plan they went through with it no matter how dangerous. Shino just learned to go with the flow. It seemed like Shikamaru liked to instigate the hype even though he preached about laziness. Shino figured that Shikamaru just liked figuring things out and that it was must easier when he had control.

"Shino you too? I thought you were the sensible one! Augh." Sakura held her head in her hand. She lifted her head and massaged her scalp. "They're in her office. Behind her desk in these huge filing cabinets. But I can't get the keys." Sakura had spent the summer interning with Tsunade. She knew the exact layout and was close to both Tsunade and Shizune.

"Look I can work out the kinks. I just need your cooperation."

"No I'm not doing this. This is ridiculous."

"All in favor." A majority of the table raised their hands. Only Hinata, Lee, Sasuke and Sakura held reservations.

"Come on Lee! Hinata please. You both would be doing this to help us unveil what kind of people they are." Naruto begged them both to join in. Eventually the two cracked and raised their hands as well. Neji turned to Sasuke.

"Look Uchiha. Can't you just imagine what we'll find in Itachi's files?"

"I can't risk it. If we get caught…" Sasuke's voice trailed off. They all knew what he was thinking. The eternal struggle between who would get Uchiha corp. Itachi was a shoe in but Sasuke wasn't going to give up. He wouldn't partake in anything that would lead him to lose the race between him and Itachi.

"Picture it Uchiha. Who's going to be the better child when Itachi is proven to have a bad record, huh?" Neji pressured him. Sasuke eventually caved in. He knew their plan was going to succeed. It always did and he'd make sure of it. He just didn't like the idea of a small mishap. He turned to Sakura.

"No. I'm not doing this. I can't break Tsunade-sama's trust." She looked towards Ino for help but the blond girl just shook her head. "Sasuke you can't really be buying this crap. What if we get caught?"

"We won't." Was all Shikamaru could say. It wasn't very convincing. Shikamaru urged Sasuke to convince Sakura.

"Sakura look. We need you for this plan. Sasuke already agreed so you can say yes." Shikamaru rolled his eyes pointing at the pale faced boy next to her. Sakura turned red.

"You think just because Sasuke agrees I will. I'm my own person Shikamaru. Remember that." She spat venom at him. Ino gave Shikamaru an exasperated look.

"Sakura he doesn't mean it like that. Just agree. You know as well as I do that we can't do this without you." Ino gave a pout face that Sakura wasn't buying. She was too busy glaring at Shikamaru. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Hey pinky," Temari called out to Sakura. She turned to face the older girl. "We're all begging you. This is probably the most fun you'll have all year. You don't get adventures like this in high school." Temari looked at her sadly. She had two more years of this place until she could really have her own adventure. Sakura looked down at her plate. She couldn't betray Tsunade-sama but she didn't want to be the buzz kill of the group. That was Shino's job.

"Fine." Naruto and Kiba cheered.

"Woot. So what's the plan?" Kiba looked excitedly at Shikamaru.

"I'll figure it out some other time. Can't I just eat in peace already?" He grabbed his burger and ate. As if on cue everyone else went back to eating their foods. Temari threw a ketchup packet at Gaara.

"So this girl. What's her name?" She raised an eyebrow and smirked. Gaara tossed it back at her.

"Janaki Krishnamoorthy." He turned back to his food. "Now can you drop it."

"Hey if we're not going to talk about Gaara's love life you mind telling me if Kankuro is single?" Ino looked at Temari like it was a normal question to ask. Temari threw another ketchup packet at her but it missed and hit Shikamaru.

"Hey!"

"Sorry I missed."

"Some basketball player you are." He mumbled looking back down at his fries. Temari just laughed.

"Hey I'm a beast. But seriously Ino don't do it. Kankuro is…a make-up wearing loser. I mean it looks good on Gaara but Kankuro just looks stupid with it. I'm only warning you for your own good. I mean he even plays with dolls." She gawked at Ino. She couldn't believe that any sane girl would date Kankuro let alone the group's boy scrutinizing Barbie. A hand fell on her shoulder as she jolted back. She turned to see the very boy they were talking about.

"They're not dolls. They're puppets sis. And it's part of a collection." Kankuro rolled his eyes. "Hey Ino." He looked at her and smiled. She giggled back.

"Hi Kankuro." She waved back at him. Kiba rolled his eyes. Sai kept his eyes glued on Kankuro. Something in his stomach was churning and he knew it wasn't what he just ate.

"Hi Kankuro." Naruto mimicked Ino and batted his eyes. Everyone was in hysterics as Ino's face flushed with pink color as she looked towards Kankuro with a little smile. Sai was really getting agitated. This was a little too much. It bothered Sai but what bothered him more was not knowing why he was suddenly infuriated with the greetings being exchanged by Ino and Kankuro. Kankuro wasn't a bad person, not that he knew of. But the way he smiled. He didn't like Kankuro's smiled. Not at all.

"Look I have to go back. I just thought I'd drop in and say hi." He nodded towards the group of skaters outside. Gaara scanned the group but he didn't see anyone he recognized. Temari pulled Kankuro down and whispered something into his ear

"Look Kankuro. Tell me everything about Janaki Krishnamoorthy." Temari tried to be subtle about it by pointing to Gaara. Kankuro gawked at him.

"Oh my god. Does he like her? Shit. I'll tell you all about it later." He looked back at Ino and winked before escaping through the doors.

"SakuRAH!" She stressed the importance of her words. "I need to go shopping NOW. It's been like two weeks and I need something cute to wear." She nodded towards the door Kankuro just left through. Sakura sighed looking a little agitated. She motioned for Sasuke to move over.

"Tenten, Hinata, Temari-sempai, come on. We're going shopping." They pushed through the seats and headed out the doors. Chouji put his head on his hand and sighed.

"What is it with girls and shopping?" He turned to Neji the oldest of the group, hoping for an answer. He shrugged and took a sip of his tea.

* * *

"Do you seriously like Kankuro?" Sakura said lifting a yellow shirt up to her torso.

"No no way."

"Oh thank god because I didn't want to tell you this but ew Kankuro really?"

"Sakura I was talking about that shirt." Ino glared at her from behind the clothes rack. "Look I know Kankuro doesn't seem like the type of guy I'd date but do you remember when you," She pointed to Temari. "Gaara, and Kankuro came to visit Konoha. Well me and Kankuro really hit it off. Plus he's a sophomore."

"All you did was say hi!" Sakura pushed the pink shirt in front her. Ino shook her head. Sakura thrust it back into the rack. "Tenten help me."

"Look Sakura, I know you're trying to help Ino but I'm going to have to agree with her, for once. Kankuro's not a bad guy. Okay sure he's not very cute and yeah he's kind of weird but at least she's not going for a player, right?" Tenten tossed a blue dress towards Hinata. Temari took it and threw it back with a shake of her head.

"Exact opposite Tenten. I've know Kankuro for what, fifteen years? He's a total player, I mean it doesn't look like it but girls flock to him and he dumps them in seconds. Don't go for it." Temari patted Ino on the back while handing her a yellow sundress. "Seriously he'll leave you in a second."

"I highly doubt that." Ino scoffed while grabbing the dress. She turned to Hinata. "You decide whether I should give Kankuro a chance." She headed off to the dressing rooms. Hinata worried. She couldn't possibly decide a person love life. It was Ino's choice. Well, Kankuro's not a bad kid and he does seem to like Ino back which doesn't seem too bad. She pondered on this for a while. By the time she had made her decision, Ino had danced out of the changing room and was at her side.

"Well?"

"You sh-should just d-date Kankuro." She glanced at Sakura and faced the floor. "Well I mean, if you r-r-really want to that is. It's y-your choice Ino." She looked back up at Ino. The blond girl was smiling big and bright.

"Oh Hina! I knew you'd say that!" She hugged the girl tightly before returning back to the clothes rack. Sakura groaned but she smiled at Hinata to show that she wasn't mad. In fact it was the right decision. Let Ino make the mistake for herself. Sakura found a really pretty blue dress that she wanted to try on but before she could Ino pulled her aside.

"Hey Sakura I just wanted to tell you that we know you're over Sasuke so whenever Shikamaru says that kind of stuff, you know he's just joking." She looked at Sakura in all seriousness.

"Woah yeah I know." Sakura tried to pull out her best smile but it didn't help. Ino gave her what seemed to be a pity hug. "Ew don't touch me." She stuck her tongue out at Ino and went into the dressing rooms.

"Can you believe her? I try to be nice and she's such a fathead!" Ino fumed. She knew Sakura was just messing around and she knew that Sakura knew she was also messing around. Ino turned to Hinata.

"You still like Naruto right?" She saw the blush form from the corner of her eyes. Temari grabbed Hinata's shoulders.

"You like to blond idiot? Oh my god." Temari started to laugh holding onto Hinata for support.

"C-Come on guys. I-It's n-n-not that funny." She moved from under Temari causing her to fall. She giggled while Temari was still laughing on the ground. _Mission accomplished_ Ino thought. She turned to Tenten.

"Well tell me about the boys in your life." Both Sakura and Hinata turned towards her. Tenten never mentioned romance in her high school life. Tenten casually put down a shirt she was holding and looked Ino straight in the eyes.

"You know there's only one man in my life."

"Oh yeah? See him everyday?"

"Yep, I make sure to say hi to him every morning."

"Is he cute?"

"Why of course. Probably one of the hottest guys in school."

"I knew it you! You like Neji. It's so obvious." Ino clapped her hands with happiness. Tenten choked on her gum.

"I'm not talking about Neji, you pig." Tenten threw several shirts at Ino. Neji was her best friend. No way in the world would she…well it was true. Tenten did have a very secret crush on Neji but she wasn't going to tell Ino of all people. No, that would cause unnecessary drama for the group. Besides, Neji didn't like her. Neji didn't like anyone. She had half a mind to ask him if he were gay because tons of girls practically threw themselves at him and he didn't even look their way.

"Well who are you talking about?" Ino fumed. She couldn't believe Tenten didn't like Neji. They were already practically a couple. It positively pissed her off.

"Swear yourselves to secrecy." She looked at all of them. Ino, Sakura and Hinata raised their hands over their heads. Temari gave them a weird look until Hinata nudged her to do the same.

"Alright. I kind of sort of have a small miniscule crush on Itachi. I think he's really hot. And he's really nice during Kendo practice. I can't imagine him anything like Sasuke describes. But you can't tell Sasuke or anyone. He'll kill me." Tenten looked worried. Ino was ecstatic. This was gold. Of course she swore to secrecy not to tell but that was rendered void when she crossed her fingers. They all knew that. Now what would happen if Neji heard about this? A smile crept on her face.

"Oh no. Tenten how could you think the dreamiest guy in all of Konoha was 'hot'." Ino mocked anger. "May the heavens and Sasuke send their wrath upon you." She lead them to check out where she paid for her yellow dress.

"What about you sempai?"

"Nah, guys are stupid. Plus I have other things to worry about like school." Temari said it as if it were on odd idea to worry about school rather than romance. "And if I did like a guy I wouldn't go for some loser who plays with dolls."

"Oh shut up." Ino grabbed her bags and walked out of the store. "And they're puppets."

* * *

Thanks TotallyReal, gako, theAMAZing1, and Fuji-Satou Natsume for your reviews 3

Please review. It means a lot.

-Ribbon Dancer


	8. Chapter 8

Haven't updated in a while. :/ My bad.

I do not own Naruto

* * *

Sai returned to the dorm alone. He had stayed behind to pick up the tab. Naruto offered to accompany him back to the dormitories but he declined saying that he wanted some time alone. Ever since he left his home in ROOT he was constantly surrounded by someone like Naruto or Sakura. He rarely got the chance to think to himself without having to pay attention to his surroundings. He pushed open the doors and realized that it was close dark out. The sky was turning a pomegranate red tinted with tangerine. He had spent 2 hours sitting alone in the large round booth. Pulling out his phone, he noticed four missed calls from Naruto and two from Sakura. There were plenty of texts asking where he was. It was a bad idea to leave his phone on silent.

It was new to Sai the idea that someone else was worried about his well being. Life was no longer a constant battle, pitting himself against his 'brothers'. Instead he had friends who felt for him even compromising time or patience for him. It was unsettling but comforting to have such company. With these friends, Sai gained insight, experience and most of all emotion. This may one day be his down fall but for now Sai was willing to take that risk. But the emotions that confused him now had him on the edge.

Kankuro.

What was it about Kankuro that bothered him so much? Why was he feeling angry that the Kankuro boy had smiled and talked to Ino? Gaara was an exceptional person who showed no major flaws. As his brother, Kankuro should be the same. Well mannered and charismatic, there was nothing wrong with Kankuro. In reality, Sai knew that Kankuro was a good person. He liked Kankuro as a friend. That was until he saw the bond between him and Ino. There was something more between those two that he was not able to pin point. But Naruto would know the answer. He's had more experience with emotions.

Sai typed the numbers into the keypad and the door buzzed indicating his acceptance into the building. He purposefully avoided the elevator hoping to avoid confrontation. In an elevator there was a higher chance of making unnecessary conversation. Instead he took the stairs, gripping the railing as he pondered the intricacies of the relationship. He absent mindedly opened the door to his room. He entered to find a certain red head sitting on the floor. Gaara turned to him and nodded.

"Naruto was looking for you."

"Thank you. Would you like to accompany me to his room Gaara-san?" Sai tilted his head posing as an appreciative gentleman. Gaara eyed him but pulled himself off the ground and moved towards the door. Sai followed Gaara down the hall. He could hear shouting coming from the walls as he approached Naruto's room. He knocked twice on the door. Almost immediately there was a response.

"Sai! Where the hell have you been?" He pulled Gaara into the room and motioned for Sai to enter. "I thought you got lost or something. Dude, I thought you'd be back like 5 hours ago."

"Five hours ago he'd be at school, Dobe." Sasuke said from behind a coach. Gaara sat at the makeshift table made of cardboard packing boxes.

"Shut up, tool. So Sai, I was wondering if I could copy your homework. No one will let me 'compare answers'." He used air quotes. He knew Sai wouldn't get the reference but he tried anyways. In return Naruto received a confused look from Sai and sighs from Gaara and Sasuke.

"Well dickless, I will at a price." Naruto started to grumble as he fished through his bag for his wallet. Sai motioned for him to stop.

"I want to know what this emotion I have been feeling is." Naruto looked relieved while Sasuke and Gaara perked up. They looked at Sai prompting him to begin as Naruto sat on the carpet spreading his papers across the floor.

"Whenever I see Kankuro I want to punch him. But I cannot come up with a reason." Gaara raised an eyebrow. He couldn't recall there being an incident between Kankuro and Sai. He couldn't even remember them saying hi.

"Maybe you're insane." Naruto quipped.

"He smiled at Ino when she giggled." He went on. "And she smiled back at him. I had this urge to hit him. Do you understand?" Naruto gaped at Sai. He looked at Sasuke who was also slightly in shock. He smiled stupidly and Sasuke turned back to his work.

"You're jealous that Kankuro is getting all the chicks. No offense Gaara. Your brother is a friggin' pimp but he looks like a tool."

"None taken." Gaara turned towards Sai who was shaking his head.

"I do not care about your ridiculous slang for women that compare them to foul." Naruto didn't understand. Sasuke stopped doing his homework and leaned his head back.

"Dobe is an idiot who can't see what's right in front of him. Obviously Sai likes Ino. You're jealous that Ino likes Kankuro and you dislike the prospect of them having a relationship." He returned to his textbook while shaking his head. It was going to be a long year for this bunch.

"No way. No flipping way."

"It doesn't take that much to figure it out."

"You like Ino?" Naruto directed the question towards Sai who stood there silently.

"I do like her as a friend. But I have never felt love."

"Well you've felt jealousy and that counts for something." Naruto reminded him. "This is just nasty. I have to go clean my brain out with Lysol." He went into the kitchen looking for a cleaning detergent.

"Don't worry Sai, we'll keep it a secret." Gaara added looking at the confused expression on Sai's face. Naruto kept laughing while thinking about the two mismatched teens together as a couple. Emotionless Sai and the romantic Ino. What a pair.

"This is so weird. Can you even imagine it?" As Naruto laughed burst into hysterics, Sai left the room. He reached his apartment and stumbled inside. Jealousy. Jealousy is envy. A deadly sin. He was envious of Kankuro. Because Ino likes Kankuro?

But why does it matter to him? Why should he care that Ino likes another male. He himself holds no feelings for her beyond friendship. Ino is the same as Naruto. Or Sakura. It made no sense.

He reached into his bag for the promised homework and arrived back at the other room. Naruto was erasing answers that Gaara had kindly marked incorrect. Sai handed him the homework and walked into the third rate kitchen. He reached into the refrigerator for a drink and sat next to Gaara.

"Your brother. He is a good person right?"

"I think so." Gaara confirmed Sai's theory.

"Then I am insane. I should talk to my doctor about the rage."

"Jealousy is normal." Gaara assured Sai. He eyed the red headed boy. He couldn't image Gaara understanding. He was just like Sai. Still learning.

"What would you know?"

"I used to be jealous of Naruto." Upon hearing his name the blond boy looked up. Sasuke looked towards Gaara. He set his book down and proceeded to listen in on the conversations. Gaara looked directly at Sai.

"I thought I led a terrible life because of the…this thing. But Naruto, who had the exact same problem, led an amazing life. So I was jealous. I wanted to be him." Gaara turned his head away from Sai and glanced at Naruto who was looking at him with surprise and humble embarrassment.

"Well it's getting late and we have school tomorrow." Sai and Gaara got up, said good bye, and went back to their apartment. They had yet to furnish the place and once they entered they went about inflating up two air mattresses in the one bedroom they owned. Sai initiated the conversation.

"You were jealous of Naruto. So why are you two friends?" Sai was unfolding some sheets as he asked the question. Gaara adjusted the finished air mattress and looked towards Sai.

"Naruto made me realize that I was unnecessarily jealous." Gaara slowly sat down on the mattress. He looked out the window. "I used to be hateful, angry, and vengeful. I was a different person. Always fighting with someone, myself, causing trouble and constantly making Temari and Kankuro worry. There was a time when they used to fear me. I controlled them."

Sai looked at Gaara who was escaping into his memories. He tried to picture the rebellious pre-high school Gaara. A Gaara that brought fear upon his family. The Gaara he knew now was so peaceful.

"What happened?"

"Naruto beat me up. Made me realize that I was leading the wrong kind of life and now I'm a better person for it." Gaara ended the conversation. He tucked himself into bed and turned away from Sai.

If Gaara was able to change for the better so could Sai. He could fully understand the wave of new feelings that washed over him. It would happen. And he would extinguish his anger towards Kankuro.

They had half an hour before they were due at school. Naruto still had not got out of bed and it ticked Sasuke off. He was not going to be like Iruka and coax the boy out of bed. But as a friend, Sasuke couldn't ignore Naruto. They had both put so much effort to get Naruto into the school and he wasn't going to have him screw it up only a month in. Sasuke entered the room holding an apple.

"Dobe. Get up now." The creature under the white covers shuffled slightly. Naruto moaned.

"No." Sasuke chucked the apple at him. It was a pitiful attempt to get the boy to move.

"Ow. That hurts you freak." Other than the one remark Naruto did not change. Sasuke was going to have to resort to drastic measures. He pulled out his cell phone and waited by the door way.

_Kiba. Naruto won't wake up._

_YO! np itll b lyk that sleeepovr_

_Exactly. _

After a few minutes there was a knock on the door. There stood Kiba, clad in the school uniform and a hoodie. Akamaru yipped at his side.

"You know what to do?"

"Psh. I got this." Kiba strolled into their room as Akamaru followed. Sasuke leaned against the fridge, with his video cell phone out, waiting to hear the noise of a furious Naruto. He heard a whistle, then silence, and a scream.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU MOTHER!" Kiba ran out of the room laughing. Sasuke smirked upon seeing a triumphant wake up call. Akamaru raced out the room once the deed was done. Naruto chased after the dog in his boxers. He was soaked with dog urine and he wasn't pleased.

"You. You are dead to me." He pointed at Sasuke and his cell phone then glared at Kiba before he entered the bathroom.

"I'm texting the guys to come in here right now." Sasuke sent the video to all the boys of their group and within 5 minutes they were waiting in the Sasuke's apartment for Naruto to leave the bathroom. The door opened with a bang and out came a charging Naruto. Sasuke easily dodged as Naruto ran head first into the fridge. He fell back onto the floor as the gang of boys circled around him and laughed. Shino helped Naruto to his feet.

"You guys are dumbasses you know that right?" He grabbed his plaid blue Jansport backpack and left the apartment. They chased after him.

"Come on man. It was just a joke." Kiba put his arm around Naruto who grabbed it and twisted the arm around Kiba's back.

"A sick joke. Now I'm going to have to sleep in that until Sasuke does the laundry."

"I will not do your laundry, Dobe."

"Thanks Kiba. Now I'm going to smell like dog piss all year." They landed on the first floor, laughing like hyenas. They walked to the school, the entire time talking about the events of that morning. By now even Naruto found it funny and laughed along with the others at Lee's humorous interpretation of what happened.

"Well guys. This might be the last time we laugh this hard at this school." Shikamaru entered his classroom leaving a bitter taste in their mouths. Today was not going to be an easy day.

* * *

I hope to update sooner.

Next chapter is all about their break in with a little NaruHina.


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